Healthcare Policy Leader

Healthcare Policy Leader

            Healthcare Policy Leader All people have the right to quality, comfortable and dignified end-of-life. The sustained cooperation among the palliative care providers, patient and the family supports quality, comfortable and dignified living for the end-of-life patients. Palliative care providers must recognize the patient, caregiver and family as key partners in the care delivery processes. Avenues for the partners to contribute to the design and implementation of the end-of-life care are crucial. The evaluation of the patient’s physical, psychosocial, emotional and spiritual needs should guide the prioritization of resources and preferences for the end-of-life care (Dahlin, Coyne, & Ferrell, 2016). The patient’s choice of the end-of-life setting should be respected and promoted. Providers should support the development of supportive social systems that involve the patient’s community. Strong social support for the patient and caregiver promote quality experiences, health and wellbeing.

            Palliative care providers have a duty to develop caregiver-supportive services and systems. Providers should identify caregivers’ physical, psychological and emotional needs early and address the needs through various support systems. The caregivers for end-of-life patients need timely and effective in-home support, education and training, linkage to treatment and respite care services (Sklenarova et al., 2015). The supportive services facilitate the delivery of holistic care while protecting the caregivers from the stress, frustration and burnout associated with caregiving. Palliative care facilities should support caregiver-support services by allowing flexible working hours and leave arrangements for the concerned providers. Furthermore, the facilities have a duty to meet the minimum staffing requirement to enable the providers to meet the needs of the end-of-life patients.