title: Modelling services to meet the palliative care needs of chronic heart failure patients and their families: current practice in the UK.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe current provision of specialist palliative care for chronic heart failure (CHF) patients, and explore challenges, referral criteria and recommendations to inform service development.
  
  
  METHODS
  Semi-structured qualitative telephone survey of key professionals involved in CHF palliative care in the UK.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty telephone interviews were conducted with staff from 17 services comprising three main types: hospital-based (n = 7), community-based (n = 6) and hospice-based (n = 4). The main recommendations made were to establish mechanisms for joint working between palliative care and cardiology; to ensure that stakeholders are involved from the outset of service planning; and to involve community heart failure nurses in service provision. Referral guidelines were collected from four services, covering diagnostic, symptomatological, psychosocial and team-related criteria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Information regarding existing services' challenges, recommendations and referral systems is essential when designing a new service, maximising feasibility and acceptability. This study design is of particular value when descriptions and evaluations of service models are lacking in the literature. The survey gives much-needed depth and detail to the types of services currently providing palliative care to CHF patients across the UK.
authors: Dept of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, King's College London School of Medicine, London. lucy.selman@kcl.ac.uk
authors: Lucy
authors: L
authors: Selman
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Harding
authors: Teresa
authors: T
authors: Beynon
authors: Fiona
authors: F
authors: Hodson
authors: Caroline
authors: C
authors: Hazeldine
authors: Elaine
authors: E
authors: Coady
authors: Louise
authors: L
authors: Gibbs
authors: Irene J
authors: IJ
authors: Higginson
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002309:Cardiology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D005192:Family Health; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006113:United Kingdom