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People with identified palliative care needs have access to palliative care support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
People with a progressive, life-limiting illness may have complex needs that require advice, resources, treatment, or support, and those needs may change over time. The needs of people with a progressive, life-limiting illness (and those of their families and caregivers) often arise during the evening, overnight, or on the weekend. Palliative care support should be available whenever the person needs it, at any time of day or night. Appropriate palliative care support is determined based on a person’s individual needs and does not necessarily mean continuous, around-the-clock care or services.
The availability of coordinated and integrated palliative care support from a knowledgeable and skilled interdisciplinary care team is important to meet patient, family, and caregiver needs. With education to build capacity, palliative care needs can be addressed by primary care providers through primary-level palliative care (a palliative approach to care). Some complex palliative care needs may require consultation and clinician-to-clinician support (shared care) or may require greater involvement or transfer to specialist palliative care teams. All people, regardless of their diagnosis, prognosis, or location, should be able to access palliative care support appropriate to their needs at any time.
Palliative care support should be available for you whenever you need it, day or night.
Ensure that people with identified palliative care needs have access to palliative care support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as needed.
Ensure that systems, processes, and resources are in place so that people with identified palliative care needs can receive palliative care support whenever they need it, at any time of day or night.
Local availability of palliative care support (as defined above) that is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Data source: local data collection
Percentage of people with identified palliative care needs (or their caregivers) who state that they are able to receive community palliative care support, including after-hours care, when needed
Denominator: total number of people with identified palliative care needs (or their caregivers)
Numerator: number of people in the denominator who state that they are able to receive community palliative care support, including after-hours care, when needed
Palliative care support consists of health advice, resources, treatment, and other assistance provided by the health care team to meet a person’s palliative care needs. Support should be culturally relevant and it can come in many forms, including a telephone call with a registered nurse; a number to call when pain or other symptoms are not well managed; or a home visit from a primary care or palliative care provider.
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