Palliative Care in the Home

Rating:
Summary: A new palliative care reference for nurses & doctors
Review: Palliative Care in the Home is a gem of a book, written by two noted palliative care specialists who were formerly general practitioners. First and foremost, Doyle and Jeffrey are concerned with quality of care. This reviewer believes their book will be of as much interest to nurses working in the home as to the physicians.

The book addresses special problems and challenges faced by both doctors and nurses in delivering palliative care within the home setting. There is special focus on home nursing issues. The authors maintain that good palliative care ought to begin in the home whether or not the patient is eventually admitted to hospital or special palliative care unit.

This small reference book is written in a straightforward style, and so is very readable and understandable, for the medical professional as well as the general reader with some knowledge and interest in the field of palliative care. The importance of the multi-disciplinary team is stressed throughout, along with the ethical need to respect patient autonomy and decision-making. Patients and families must be encouraged to express their feelings and views, and so take an active partnership role in providing care. Needs of the family carers and stresses on palliative care providers are among other issues developed.

The reader will find extensive, current material on symptom diagnosis, appropriate palliation and guidelines for medications to manage pain for a wide variety of diseases. Other chapters offer insights and guidelines to general practitioners who wish to use their counseling skills to offer bereavement counseling. There is an extensive bibliography of comprehensive reference books on palliative medicine and other specialized issues, as well as appendices listing useful drugs for the doctor's bag and setting up the syringe driver.