The Hospice Friendly Hospital Programme at Sligo General Hospital

Each year almost 30,000 people die in Ireland.  While a large majority of people wish to die at home, the reality is that approximately two-thirds die in hospitals of one sort or another and 40% die in general hospitals. In order to ensure the quality of end-of-life care in hospital, the Irish Hospice Foundation undertook a pilot project, to examine how a comprehensive approach could be developed to change the culture of care regarding dying, death and bereavement in Irish hospitals. 

The Foundation has now established a national programme to implement hospice principles into hospital practice.  It focuses on four key themes generated from the pilot project:

Integrated Care                     Communication

Dignity & Design                   Patient Autonomy

The Hospice Friendly Hospital Programme (HfHP) is being undertaken in two phases over a 5 year period in a creative partnership with the HSE, Atlantic Philanthropies, HIQA and a range of public service and academic organisations.  Crucial to its success is the development of comprehensive patient-focused standards regarding dying, death and bereavement, a public consultation process of the Draft Quality Standards for End of Life Care in Hospitals was recently completed.   

Sligo General Hospital is one of 43 hospitals nationwide taking part in an ambitious audit of end of life services that are offered to dying patients and their families. This voluntary audit is the first of its kind in the European Union. The audit will provide a detailed picture of the quality of end-of life services in our hospital. The End-of Life Care Audit system was designed as part of the Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme. The audit in each hospital took seven months to complete. The perspectives of nurses, doctors and bereaved relatives of the care that a patient received before, during and after the death were sought. Other staff including porters, household staff, morticians and administrators were also asked their views on end- of -life care in the hospital.

The audit began in November 2008 and was completed in September 2009. By March 2010 each hospital will receive a confidential report on all aspects of its end of life services including comparative data with other hospitals. A series of smaller reports will also be provided in 2009. A national report will also be available for the Health Service Executive, the Health Information & Quality Authority (HIQA), The Department of Health and children and other state bodies concerned with the planning and quality of health and social services.

The supports to assist hospitals participate in the programme include: employment of development co-coordinators to develop the capacity of the hospitals to improve services and standards; training in communications skills; development of information, awareness and education strategies around patient autonomy and end-of-life issues; specialist advice relating to improvements in physical infrastructure and facilities. 

SligoGeneral Hospital officially launched the programme on ******. There is a Standing Committee on Death, Dying and Bereavement already established in Sligo General Hospital.  There will be information and training sessions throughout the year.

Any input from staff, patients and families is welcome. If you would like to become a part of this process, feel free to contact your Development Coordinator for the Hospital, Mary Friel on 0868432516 Maryf.friel@hse.ie or contact Kate Bree, Nursing Practice Development Co-ordinator, Ph. extn. 4783 or email kate.bree@hse.ie for additional information. Additionally, you can log on to our web site at the link below.

For further information please visit:

www.hospicefriendlyhospitals.net