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Journal of Palliative Care & Medicine | ISSN: 2165-7386 | Volume 8
August 27-28, 2018 | Boston, USA
4
th
International Conference on
Palliative Care, Medicine and Hospice Nursing
What do you want?
Tony Bonser
St Catherine’s Hospice, Lancashire
P
atients are people too. I am involved in EoLC because of my personal experience of caring for my son during his terminal illness.
I dream we can work towards a system of fully integrated, holistic care for those near death. This will involve a culture-change
in the relationship between medical professionals and patients/carers, in line with the patient-centered philosophy embodied in the
NHS Constitution, and with the recommendations of the Francis Report, the Neuberger Report, “One Chance to Get it Right,“ and
the NICE guidelines 2016, seeing patient and professional in a partnership, defining and meeting the perceived needs of the patient.
Communication will be central to this development. Professionals and patients must evolve a common language comprehensible to
both, and an atmosphere in which patients and carers feel empowered to become involved in the decision-making process, and thus
to take back some control of their condition and its management. Great sensitivity on the part of the professionals as to the emotional
effects of their discussions on patients will be needed along with an understanding that everyone is an individual, with specific and
personal needs, and that “one size fits all,” will not meet their needs.
tbonser@aol.comJ Palliat Care Med 2018, Volume 8
DOI: 10.4172/2165-7386-C3-021