The St Vincent’s Pathway for the Care of Imminently Dying Patients
The goal of this project was to improve care of dying patients and their families by providing staff with education and support in the use of an approved and modified version of the Liverpool Care Pathway for Imminently Dying Patients.
This project involved a large tertiary hospital in Melbourne, Australia, which has a Palliative Care Consult Service (PCCS). The PCCS sees approximately 750 new patients per year of whom 30 percent required end of life care at the time of referral. The LCP was implemented on two aged care medical Geriatric Evaluation and Management (GEM) units as a pilot project. The primary aim of the project was to determine the level of clinician knowledge and confidence around care of the imminently dying patient before and after implementation of LCP. The secondary aim was to implement the LCP and thereby directly influence care provision.
The project was funded by the Department of Human Services, under the Turning Policy into Practice Grants.
For more information on the St Vincent’s Pathway for Imminently Dying Patients, please contact Karen Quinn.
