Role of the general practitioner
Evidence suggests that the main reasons for people failing to achieve a home death are carer fatigue and inadequate provision or deployment of palliative care services. Planning the care of your patients who have been diagnosed with incurable cancer, including recording the patient's wishes about his/her end-of-life care can be assisted by the use of a mechanism such as the Gold Standards Framework.
The management and needs of a dying patient can be supported by the use of the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient.
Information about all aspects of palliative care, guidance on the management of pain and discussion documents on topics such as ethical issues at the end-of-life and psychosocial care of people with incurable cancer can be obtained from the National Council for Palliative Care.
Who can support you?
The District Nurse
Will share the responsibility for on-going care of the patient with you. The District Nurse will usually coordinate care and recruit the assistance of other healthcare professionals as required.
The palliative care Clinical Nurse Specialist
The Home Care Sister or Macmillan Nurse will provide expertise in assessment and treatment of symptoms and in psychological and social support for both the patient and their family.
The multi-professional specialist palliative care team
Based within your local hospice, they will provide expertise ranging from specialist medical and nursing, through occupational and physiotherapists, to social workers and bereavement counsellors. The team will also be able to direct you to other experts such as pharmacists or psychologists.
Who can help support the patient's family?
Marie Curie Cancer Care produces patient information leaflets about the Nursing Service.
Click here to download the All about the Marie Curie nursing service leaflet. (pdf 160 KB).
Information for patients and carers about individual cancers, many aspects of treatment, ways helping patients with incurable disease, and details about local support groups can be obtained from directories such as the Cancerbackup Directory of Cancer Services.
