Assessment of tele-hospice
Dying and terminally ill patients on Aeroe (an island in southern Denmark) have since 2018 had access to tele-hospice. Now, CIMT has finished the assessment of it.
Based on that, and on the resulting adjustments, the Region of Southern Denmark now recommend keeping the tele-hospice as a permanent offer. The future of the tele-hospice is decided on 22 June 2020.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The telemedicine hospice site makes it possible for residents on Aeroe to stay on the island in their last days and be close to their relatives at the same time that they can receive the specialised and palliative (pain-relieving) treatment from Hospice Sydfyn and Palliative Team Fyn from OUH.
The hospice site is in many ways similar to an ordinary hospice site, except that a 75-inch screen has been set up with direct video contact to Hospice Sydfyn in Svendborg and the Palliative Team at Odense University Hospital (OUH).
This means that the patient, relatives and the healthcare staff at Aeroe can consult with the specialist palliative care staff at Hospice Sydfyn and at OUH. The treatment is therefore carried out by the staff at the Aeroe Hospital Unit, but it is done under guidance from the hospice staff.
ASSESSMENT RESULTS
During the project period of 13 months, a total of six patients were admitted to the telemedicine hospice bed. The project has been a restructuring process for the staff in the Aeroe Hospital Unit, as they had to expand their field of competence in caring for the dying to specialise in complex issues within palliative care.
The initial training courses at Hospice Sydfyn gave the staff at Aeroe a good insight into how work is done within the specialised palliative field at Hospice Sydfyn, but it has been a challenge to keep all staff up to date on the specialised palliative field with the relatively limited number of patients, just as it has been difficult to achieve a routine.
It has been the staff's impression that patients and relatives have generally benefited from participation in the telemedicine video consultations. Sparring between Hospice Sydfyn and the Aeroe Hospital Unit is generally best prior to the telemedicine consultations, after which patients and relatives can be involved in the final coordination of the treatment and care.
It cost 3,778,736 DKK to establish the project. The Aeroe Hospital Unit has not had any significantly increased operating costs, while the situation was different for Hospice Sydfyn. Their efforts have been shown to go beyond being 'advisory' to fulfill a more comprehensive role and have the character of being more participatory.