Sage Palliative Medicine & Chronic Care

This episode features Professor Scott Murray (Primary Palliative Care Research Group, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK). People living at home with advanced progressive illness require well-coordinated services at all times of the day and night. Early identification for generalist palliative care support and care planning in the community can improve outcomes but requires effective information sharing across services. People with palliative care needs are high users of unscheduled care in the last months of life. People dying with advanced organ failure accessed unscheduled community health services less often than people with cancer or frailty. The organisation of unscheduled healthcare services is poorly understood, and current care pathways could be used more effectively in line with patient preferences. Early identification and care planning in primary care of those requiring palliative care informs and enhances their urgent and emergency care. Better resourcing of unscheduled community services f