The role of general practitioners in children's end-of-life care: a survey of preferred involvement.

摘要

Improving end-of-life (EoL) care for children and their families is a national priority and the expansion of community services to support care closer to home is advocated. This is considered to be in the best interests of families and to have significant cost benefits. General practitioners (GPs) have an important role in this improvement strategy, providing essential symptom management and family support. They are also in a prime position to help families identify and co-ordinate the many primary healthcare services that may be required (including out-of-hours). However, while GPs have established roles in supporting adults with terminal conditions, GPs are not routinely involved in children's EoL care. To gain insight into GPs' involvement in children's EoL care, a postal questionnaire assessing professional characteristics, experience, preferences for end-of-life care provision, and perceived support needs was distributed to named palliative care leads or senior partners in each general practice within the Pan Birmingham Palliative Care Network (N=348).