Unit 81: Support Individuals At The End Of Life

Understand the requirements of legislation and agreed ways of working to protect the rights of individuals at the end of life

Medical regulators in every province have issued detailed guidelines that doctors must follow to help suffering patients end their lives and most of these guidelines impose safeguards. It is required that at least two doctors must agree that a patient meets the eligibility

The assessments of the patient in an end of life situation must occur frequently as to detect rapid and/or minimal changes in the patient’s condition. It is also the primary nurse’s role to report any and all changes to the multidisciplinary team, including the family members.

A solution to why end of life care planning should be cover as an expense will be provided by case law, an ethical theory and moral principles. The stakeholders that are affected by end-of-life planning are patients, family members of patients, physicians, nurses and insurance companies. Ultimately patients are affected the most if end-of-life planning is not covered. End-of-life planning can be expensive in which can affect the decision that the patient makes. If this expense is covered, it may help the patient’s decision a little bit easier.

end of life can be a distressing time for patients, families, and healthcare providers. Cultural

If patients are able to convey their desires with end of life care while communicating their values and ethics that are associated with end of life care, they are better able to have their wishes honored. This is accomplished through the completion of a the AD which includes a living will, power of attorney, and an option to order cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or to refuse it (DNR). These actions together, work to ensure that each individual has the freedom to assert their wishes for end of life care. Appointing a power of attorney entails a patient selecting a trusted person to make health care decisions if the event they become unable to do so. Ideally, reinforcing patient self-determination leads to the reduction in the unnecessary expenses that come with receiving unwanted medical

“There is a time in a patient’s life when the pain ceases to be, when the mind slips off into a dreamless state, when the need for food becomes minimal and the awareness of the environment all but disappears into darkness. This is the time when the relatives walk up and down the hospital hallways, tormented by the waiting, not knowing if they should leave to attend the living or stay to be around for the moment of death”(Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross). There are many interpretations to what end of life care is. End of life care is care that needs to occur when a person loses independence. Some people think that end of life care is just dying in a hospital, but there are many important components that make up end of life care.

Keeping end-of-life care in-home when possible, makes it easier for loved ones to care for access their family member during an often difficult and stressful time. In a familiar setting, families are

How does the rural influence affect rural emergency room nurses transitioning from curative to end-of-life care? Since there are limited resources in rural hospitals, it is necessary to explore the rural influence on rural emergency room (ER) nurses transitioning from curative to end-of-life care (Rolland, 2016). It was necessary to capture areas of need to best support rural nurses caring for dying patients and their families in the rural communities.

With major advancement in medical treatments, it is now possible to keep a patient alive, which would not have been possible in former times. This has made end of life issue one of the most controversial issues in healthcare. Medical improvements have set the stage for ethical and legal controversies about not only the patient’s rights but also the family’s rights and the medical profession’s proper role. It is critical that any decision made in such situation is ethical and legal to preserve the rights of the patient and also protect the healthcare institution involved. It is very important when making decisions to discontinue treatments to make sure all other alternatives have been explored.

The law in Australia is pretty much clear when it comes to making end of life decisions. When a person is terminally ill, and death is imminent; one should not kill, no matter how unbearable the person’s situation (McIlwraith & Madden 2006a). Chiarella (2006) described life-sustaining medical treatment as CPR, artificial ventilation, antibiotic use, renal dialysis and artificial nutrition and hydration.

Most people want to spend their final days at home, surrounded by family and friends. Others may prefer to be alone, or to be in a hospital receiving treatments for an illness until the very end. In any case and regardless of the person’s choice, there are some points that must people agree, people usually want to preserve their dignity and do not want to die in pain or suffering (End of Life: Helping With Comfort and Care, 2012).

The most common driver in relation to end of life if the gold standards framework of end of life care. This framework is a model that enables good practice to be available to all people nearing the end of live irrespective of a diagnosis. This is a way of raising the level of care to the standard of the best. There is also the Liverpool Care Pathway; which is a UK policy covering palliative care options for patients in the final days or hours of life. It was developed to help doctors and nurses provide quality end of life care. There is also ‘preferred priorities of care’ which is a booklet which asks the service user prior to the end of life what their wants and wishes are regarding future

2.2 Explain how the beliefs, religion and culture of individuals and key people influence end of life care.

According to the ANA (2013), the collaborative efforts of the health care team are important in the care of the patients at the end of life. During this stage, patients and their families have a variety of needs that should be addressed and taken into consideration. These needs should be understood and taken into consideration in order to provide the best care possible for the all.