A new study reveals that paramedics are facing significant challenges in providing end-of-life care due to a lack of access to crucial patient information.
Research from the University of Southampton has revealed that paramedics face significant challenges in responding to the increasing number of patients requiring end-of-life care . The study, which surveyed over 900 paramedics across all 11 NHS trusts, found that paramedics frequently attend patients in their last year of life, with 57 percent estimating they do so at least every seven shifts, and 89 percent at least every 14 shifts.
Despite this, only 14 percent of paramedics said they often or always knew the patient's end-of-life status prior to arrival, while 45 percent reported never or rarely knowing. This lack of crucial information, such as patient medical history and advance care planning documents, puts paramedics in a difficult position. Dr. Natasha Campling, Associate Professor at the University of Southampton and lead author of the paper, explained that paramedics are often asked to make complex decisions without all the necessary information, support, resources, and training. This is particularly concerning for patients at the end of life, as paramedics need to be able to distinguish between reversible causes that require hospital treatment and those associated with underlying conditions or the dying process that can be relieved through palliative care and appropriate symptom management.Dr. Sarah Holmes, Chief Medical Officer at Marie Curie, acknowledged the significant pressures on ambulance services and emphasized the importance of equipping paramedics with the right tools to do their job. She welcomed the publication of this important research, stating that it will help ambulance services understand how to better support their paramedic workforce in providing excellent end-of-life care. However, she cautioned that, like all research, this paper should be considered within a wider context and contributes to a growing body of knowledge
Paramedics End-Of-Life Care Medical History Advance Care Planning Ambulance Services
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