Addington-Hall, J. M.

The importance of evaluating systematically the effectiveness of hospice care has been noted for at least 20 years. There is, however, limited evidence about whether and how the care provided to terminally ill patients by in-patient hospices in the UK differs from that provided in NHS hospitals. In this article, we, therefore, present a comparison of hospice in-patient care and hospital care for cancer patients in the UK, from the perspective of bereaved relatives who had experienced both types of care during the last 3 months of the patient’s life.

To remain at home, terminally ill cancer patients need good symptom control and support from informal carers. Few studies have explored the influence of informal carers on symptom control and vice versa. This qualitative case study was carried out in a specialist palliative care service (SPCS) to explore the reasons why patients were admitted for inpatient care. Ten patients were systematically selected and the main carer and health professionals involved in their care were invited to participate.