"Impact of an hospital-based palliative care service in the community"

Project Summary and Objectives:

This project aims to evaluate the cost and effectiveness of an hospital based palliative care service on subsequent care of advanced cancer patients in the community, in terms of length of index hospital admission, and need for re-admission, quality of symptom control on discharge and at home, quality of life and functional status at home, patient and carer satisfaction, impact on general practitioner/district nurse workload, and eventual place of death.
The effects of such a service on the professional satisfaction of the primary care team will also be assessed.
The study will be a randomised controlled trial of two levels of intervention by the palliative care team in the United Bristol Healthcare Trust.
Assessments will be undertaken both during the hospital admission and after discharge over a 5 month follow-up period or to death.

Further information can be obtained from:

Professor Geoff Hanks
Macmillan Professor of Palliative Medicine
Department of Palliative Medicine
University of Bristol
Bristol Oncology Centre
Horfield Road
Bristol             BS2 8ED

UK