Soins palliatifs et médecine

Abstrait

Current Situation of Outpatient Palliative Care in Germany

Jens Papke* and Ute Rosenbaum

In 2007, over a period of 2 months, 26 outpatient nursing services were surveyed for posts, services offered and experiences in palliative care. Interviews were carried out following a self-developed questionnaire and free conversation. 65% of the services reported insufficient funding of outpatient palliative care. Despite this, 42% were still able to offer specific services in palliative care; 88% offered support around the clock and 54% gave continuous care in the final phase. The fact that 61% of carers realized the need for palliative care was the main reason for these figures. Services networking with clinics, hospice groups and specialised physicians seemed to have a higher success rate in care. All service providers appeared highly motivated and had appropriate qualifications. The main problems appeared to be the poor co-operation between services, inadequate funding, and lack of information in general about palliative care and the lack of structured guidelines for palliative care in the health care system. This could be solved with a prompt introduction of legal guidelines.