Homes need more palliative-care education, says expert
Developing a common language would benefit sector
Wednesday December 3, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - Patti Stanton, a palliative care and symptom management consultant at Hospice Peterborough, says she would like to see more education directed at palliative care in long-term care homes, in an effort to provide caregivers with a common language across the board.

By learning pain-assessment tools such as the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) and the Palliative Performance Scale (PPS), caregivers in the sector would all be on the same page, allowing for more efficient diagnosis of palliative symptoms, which would have a positive impact on residents, says Stanton.

According to Palliative.org, a regional palliative-care program in Edmonton, the ESAS is “designed to assist the assessment of nine symptoms in cancer patients: pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, appetite, well-being and shortness of breath.”

Each of these symptoms is rated by the caregiver on a scale from zero to 10 to help determine the need for specific interventions.

The PPS determines a person’s station in the palliative stage by measuring ambulation and the amount of care the person needs.

As it stands, Stanton says there are many services available teaching pain-assessment programs which are “very underutilized” by the long-term care sector.

One of the benefits of learning these pain-assessment tools is that they can engage everyone working in the long-term care setting, thus allowing a broad range of knowledge to resonate throughout care homes.

“I think it’s the interdisciplinary team approach, because there’s no hierarchy — everybody’s opinion is valued,” says Stanton, who teaches the assessment tools during eight-week courses offered at Hospice Peterborough in the spring and autumn.

“We truly empower participation.”

Stanton underscores the importance of strong palliative-care practices in long-term care homes, noting the significant impact it has on the resident, their families and staff members.

“The success of palliative care is that staff members feel that they’ve really made a difference and that the (resident) and the family have the dignity and comfort that they need,” she says.

More information about palliative-care educational services can be accessed by contacting Stanton by e-mail at pstanton@hospicepeterborough.org, or by calling 800-790-0867, or 742-4042 in the Peterborough area.

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