A neurological care pathway for meeting the palliative care needs of people with life-limiting neurological conditions.

摘要

The expectancy and demand for palliative care provision beyond cancer continues to increase in the Western world. This challenge raises the need for useful tools to support palliative care practitioners and other specialists in caring for people with a range of non-malignant life-limiting diseases. This paper describes the development process and the resulting care pathway for meeting the palliative care needs of people living with neurological conditions. The pathway was designed as a template, suitable for local modification, to support timely referrals and coordination of care through a patient's illness journey incorporating the provision of palliative and end-of-life care. Although the pathway was developed for neurological conditions, it is suggested that presentation of the development process and the care pathway template may support practitioners to develop further pathways for a wider range of life-limiting conditions.