A Hospice and Palliative Care Bed Dedicated to Patients Admitted to the Emergency Department for End-of-Life Care. (May 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lafond, Pierre; Chalayer, E.; Roussier, M.; Weber, E.; Lacoin-Reynaud, Q.; Tardy, B.
• Is Part Of: American journal of hospice & palliative care. Volume 33:Number 4(2016)
• Page Start: 403
• Page End: 406
• Publication Date: 2016-05
• Subjects: hospice care -- palliative care -- end-of-life care -- emergency department -- intensive care unit -- death; Hospice care -- Periodicals; Palliative treatment -- Periodicals; 362.175
• DOI: 10.1177/1049909114562947
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1049-9091

Abstract

A hospice and palliative care (PC) bed was created in 2006, located within a quiet area of our intensive care unit, in order to admit terminally ill patients sent to the emergency department (ED) for end-of-life care. We retrospectively analyze the records of the 342 terminally ill patients sent to the ED from 2007 to 2011. Among them, 176 (51.5%) were admitted to our hospice and PC bed, where 114 died. Besides, 99 (28.9%) of them died on stretchers in the ED. Our intervention led to a significant decrease in the number of terminally ill patients dying on stretchers in the ED. It also allowed both patients and families to have access to a more suitable environment.