Time is Precious: person-centred end of life care in an emergency department. A quality improvement project.

Abstract

Supporting and managing end of life in emergency departments (EDs) is often difficult and is becoming increasingly commonplace. Patients who present at the end of life are often triaged as low priority as their signs and symptoms are not considered life-threatening and they are often exposed to unnecessary and inappropriate tests and investigations. This results in increased stress and distress for patients and their family and carers in an environment that is not suited to this type of care. There are few specified palliative care pathways that provide the level of care required by these patients. This article describes the Time is Precious (TiP) project, the development of a palliative care decision-making framework to support and address the needs of patients who present to an ED at end of life, in a timely and appropriate manner. It also reports findings of an evaluation of TiP that show patients are identified more quickly and cared for more appropriately as nursing and medical care can be tailored to meet their needs.