The impact on community palliative care services of a hospital palliative care team.
This retrospective study examined the influence of a hospital palliative care team on the activity of a local hospice home care team over a four-year period from May 1989 to April 1993 in East Leeds. The increasing referral to death interval observed in home care patients over this period appears to be due to the presence of the hospital team. The increasing work-load of the home care team generated by the hospital team is discussed with reference to solutions to meet this increasing demand. A district or regional planning strategy is recommended to co-ordinate existing and potential palliative care services.
Bennett
M
M
St Gemma's Hospice, Leeds, UK.
Corcoran
G
G
D004739:England; D005544:Forecasting; D006285:Health Planning; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006302:Health Services Research; D018575:Home Care Services, Hospital-Based / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010166:Palliative Care; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012041:Regional Medical Programs; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016526:Workload