Measuring the outcomes and experiences of carers and their residents admitted to a palliative care Hospital in the Home program in residential aged care

Measuring the outcomes and experiences of carers and their residents admitted to a palliative care Hospital in the Home program in residential aged care

There is an unmet need for specialist palliative care for older people residing in Residential Aged Care. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety has highlighted that the provision of palliative care in Residential Aged Care Facilities is disjointed. Access to specialist palliative care services has been shown to increase quality of life and reduce hospital presentations; however, access to such services is not standard within Australia. Implementing such models of care is challenging due to high staff turnover in Residential Aged Care Facilities, insufficient knowledge and skill, and lack of support from GPs. This mixed method study examined the outcomes for residents admitted to a specialist palliative care Hospital in the Home program that provided a hospital substitution for residents with high palliative care needs. These outcomes were compared to those of people admitted to a specialist palliative care ward in a hospital setting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with paid carers and family members of residents who were admitted to the specialist palliative care Hospital in the Home program. The data showed that residents admitted to a specialist palliative care Hospital in the Home Program had similar outcomes to those admitted to a specialist palliative care ward in the hospital setting. The study reiterates that specialist palliative care models of care in residential aged care should be tailored to the needs of the facilities within which they are implemented. The relational factors between paid carers, families and the specialist palliative care service were found to be influential in the building of confidence and capacity of paid carers to deliver quality palliative care and the confidence of the family in the care delivered.