This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by King, N. Articles by Farrell, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by King, N. Articles by Farrell, S. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Palliative Care Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

‘Now nobody falls through the net’: practitioners’ perspectives on the Gold Standards Framework for community palliative care

School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, n.king{at}hud.ac.uk

Keri Thomas

John Taylor Hospice, Birmingham

Nina Martin

School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate

Dennise Bell

School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate

Sharon Farrell

School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate

The Gold Standards Framework (GSF) seeks to facilitate consistent and high quality community palliative care through a set of guidelines, mechanisms and assessment tools. The present study set out to examine practitioners’ perspectives on the GSF during its first national roll-out. Two general practices that had adopted the GSF were recruited in each of four geographical areas, and each matched as closely as possible with a non-GSF practice. Sixty-eight semi-structured telephone interviews were carried out with general practitioners and district nurses in 16 selected practices, along with the GSF facilitator and up to four other ‘stakeholders’ in each area. Analysis revealed that the majority of GSF participants felt that the framework had strengthened their provision of community palliative care. In particular, communication within primary health care teams and co-ordination of services improved, aspects which were better in the GSF practices than in the matched non-GSF practices. Practitioners felt there was more consistency of care, with a reduced likelihood that individual patients would ‘slip through the net’. The most common areas of concern were in relation to the workload associated with the role of the GSF co-ordinator. Implications for the development and effective implementation of the framework and for further research are discussed.

Key Words: community palliative care • qualitative • standards

Palliative Medicine, Vol. 19, No. 8, 619-627 (2005)
DOI: 10.1191/0269216305pm1084oa


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F Badger, C Clifford, A Hewison, and K Thomas An evaluation of the implementation of a programme to improve end-of-life care in nursing homes Palliative Medicine, September 1, 2009; 23(6): 502 - 511. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J Dale, M Petrova, D Munday, J Koistinen-Harris, R Lall, and K Thomas A national facilitation project to improve primary palliative care: impact of the Gold Standards Framework on process and self-ratings of quality Qual. Saf. Health Care, June 1, 2009; 18(3): 174 - 180. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C Walshe, A Caress, C Chew-Graham, and C Todd Implementation and impact of the Gold Standards Framework in community palliative care: a qualitative study of three primary care trusts Palliative Medicine, September 1, 2008; 22(6): 736 - 743. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. D MacLeod Quality of dying--how are we doing? Qual. Saf. Health Care, August 1, 2008; 17(4): 237 - 238. [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Munday, K. Mahmood, J. Dale, and N. King Facilitating good process in primary palliative care: does the Gold Standards Framework enable quality performance? Fam. Pract., October 1, 2007; 24(5): 486 - 494. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Twomey, D. K. McDowell, and G. D. Corcoran End-of-life care for older patients dying in an acute general hospital can we do better? Age Ageing, July 1, 2007; 36(4): 462 - 464. [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Munday and J. Dale Palliative care in the community BMJ, April 21, 2007; 334(7598): 809 - 810. [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Dy and J. Lynn Getting services right for those sick enough to die BMJ, March 10, 2007; 334(7592): 511 - 513. [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Thomas and B. Noble Improving the delivery of palliative care in general practice: an evaluation of the first phase of the Gold Standards Framework Palliative Medicine, January 1, 2007; 21(1): 49 - 53. [Abstract] [PDF]