Collaborative working for good practice in palliative care

Abstract

NHS reforms and community care legislation in the UK have created both challenges and opportunities for collaborative working between agencies and the potential for the more active involvement of users and carers in this process. This paper examines this in the context of palliative care, more specifically the hospital care of people with a terminal illness and their discharge home, This is discussed with reference to a case study of interprofessional and user collaboration in a Rochdale hospital where a working group has developed a set of guidelines for good practice in the care of terminally ill patients and their carers. The experience of the group has demonstrated a number of lessons: first, that it is possible to overcome the fragmentation and the insularity generated by the internal market; second, that this can be achieved by a practitioner-based exploration of operational issues and problems; and third, practice must be informed by users' experience of the service. In this way it is possible to compare ‘professional' with ‘lay' definitions of good practice and to work together to provide a more effective and patient-centred service.

Key Words:

• Palliative care
• interprofessional
• collaboration
• user involvement
• training