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 ISI Web of Science 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 ISI Web of Science (3) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Selman, L. Articles by Higginson, I. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Selman, L. Articles by Higginson, I. J. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Choosing a Doctor or Health Care Service Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Modelling services to meet the palliative care needs of chronic heart failure patients and their families: current practice in the UK

Dept of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, King's College London School of Medicine, London, lucy.selman{at}kcl.ac.uk

Richard Harding

Dept of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, King's College London School of Medicine, London,

Teresa Beynon

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London

Fiona Hodson

Cardiology Dept, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London

Caroline Hazeldine

Medicine Dept, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London

Elaine Coady

Cardiothoracic Dept, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London

Louise Gibbs

St Christopher's Hospice, London

Irene J. Higginson

Dept of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, King's College London School of Medicine, London

Objective : To describe current provision of specialist palliative care for chronic heart failure (CHF) patients, and explore challenges, referral criteria and recommendations to inform service development. Method : Semi-structured qualitative telephone survey of key professionals involved in CHF palliative care in the UK. Results : Twenty telephone interviews were conducted with staff from 17 services comprising three main types: hospital-based (n = 7), community-based (n = 6) and hospice-based (n = 4). The main recommendations made were to establish mechanisms for joint working between palliative care and cardiology; to ensure that stakeholders are involved from the outset of service planning; and to involve community heart failure nurses in service provision. Referral guidelines were collected from four services, covering diagnostic, symptomatological, psychosocial and team-related criteria. Conclusions : Information regarding existing services' challenges, recommendations and referral systems is essential when designing a new service, maximising feasibility and acceptability. This study design is of particular value when descriptions and evaluations of service models are lacking in the literature. The survey gives much-needed depth and detail to the types of services currently providing palliative care to CHF patients across the UK. Palliative Medicine 2007; 21 : 385—390

Key Words: heart failure • palliative • policy • service development

Palliative Medicine, Vol. 21, No. 5, 385-390 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0269216307077698


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

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Jaarsma, J. M. Beattie, M. Ryder, F. H. Rutten, T. McDonagh, P. Mohacsi, S. A. Murray, T. Grodzicki, I. Bergh, M. Metra, et al. Palliative care in heart failure: a position statement from the palliative care workshop of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology Eur J Heart Fail, May 1, 2009; 11(5): 433 - 443. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]