Hospice friendly Connolly Hospital

Every year almost 30,000 people die in Ireland. These deaths are increasingly associated with older age and with chronic illness and, despite the fact that 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 acute hospitals.

International research has raised concerns about the quality of end-of-life care in hospitals and a consensus is emerging that care at the end of life should become an indicator of the performance of health systems.

The Irish Hospice Foundation in association with the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Atlantic Philanthropies – the foundation set up by Irish American Chuck Feeney – have now set up a pilot project in three Irish hospitals to develop a comprehensive approach to change the culture of care and organisation regarding dying, death and bereavement in Irish hospitals.

Connolly Hospital has been selected as one of the three hospitals along with the Mater Hospital and the Royal Hospital in Donnybrook.

According to Mary Walshe, Director of Nursing at Connolly Hospital and chairperson of the Standards Committee set up to implement the pilot project, “our project is aimed at bringing a hospice ethos into an acute hospital setting. Death, dying and bereavement in acute hospitals are not just the result of terminal illness but also include traumatic death in A&E, and a range of illness and conditions across all hospital departments.”

Among the areas to be examined by the committee will be the design of hospitals and facilities within the hospital . “While we may not be able to make significant physical changes to existing buildings, we can propose ideas for the design of new buildings and units in the future to make them more suitable for supporting patients, families and staff at the time of bereavement,” says Mary.

“A significant part of our work will involve looking at the issues that affect staff - how they cope with bereavement and how are they managing to look after patients and their families in these situations.

We will also identify areas of best practice and asses the standards required,” she said.

Issues to be examined would include provision of single rooms, the need for spiritual care and facilities to enable families to stay overnight in the hospital with a dying relative. Mary points out that “in many ways Connolly is well serviced in this area, being a new hospital. For instance in each of our wards we have six single rooms available which can be used at times like this.”

The fact that the new St Francis Hospice for the area will be built close to Connolly Hospital will also have spin off effects for the hospital and the selection of the hospital for this pilot programme will further enhance this relationship. “We have a consultant in Palliative Care working between our hospital and the Mater at present,” explained Mary. “When the new hospice opens there undoubtedly will be further staff who can link the services of both the hospital and the hospice.”

The cost of the Pilot programme is estimated at approximately €10m and half of this has been committed by Atlantic Philanthropies with the balance divided between the Irish Hospice Foundation, HSE and the Government’s Dormant Accounts Fund.

A number of information booklets and a video have already been prepared by the Hospice Friendly Hospitals’ programme aimed at both hospital staff and bereaved families.

In the introduction to one of these booklets, U2’s Bono is quoted as saying “how we care for the sick and dying is surely a test of our humanity… just as we fight for equality in life, we should fight for equality in death.”

If Mary Walshe and her staff in Connolly Hospital have their way, this new programme will certainly go a long way to deliver on that vision.

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