Dementia UK publish palliative and end of life care report
Dementia UK has published a report entitled ‘A better death: fixing palliative and end of life care for dementia’.
The report documents challenges around palliative and end of life care including:
- A lack of early planning about future needs
- Shortcomings in professional confidence and training
- Limited access to specialist dementia nurses, such as Admiral Nurses
- Excessive, crisis-driven, hospital-based care that could often be avoided
The improvements that are being recommended in this report include:
- Early and proactive planning
- High-quality person-centred end of life care
- Dementia specialist expertise and a continuous point of contact
Dr Hilda Hayo, Chief Admiral Nurse and Chief Executive of Dementia UK, says:
“People living with dementia deserve better: better planning, better coordination and better access to specialist support from the moment of diagnosis through to the end of life. Families deserve to feel prepared. They deserve to understand what lies ahead. They deserve skilled professionals who will listen to them, guide them and stand by them through the most difficult conversations and decisions.
This report offers clear recommendations and a roadmap for how we can deliver palliative and end of life care that is proactive and person-centred, so that no one faces dementia alone.” You can read the report here: https://www.dementiauk.org/wp-content/uploads/dementia-uk-fixing-palliative-and-end-of-life-care.pdf