BEREAVEMENT FOLLOW-UP - WHAT DO PALLIATIVE SUPPORT TEAMS ACTUALLY DO

Care for the family and bereavement follow-up is considered part of go od palliative practice. Risk assessment schedules and recommended meth ods of follow-up are available hut the extent to which these are used in practice is not known. This study examines the bereavement follow-u p to families and carers by five palliative support teams in England, UK. We report the bereavement follow-up provided and compare the respo nses of different teams. Data were collected on all patients using sta ndardized records. This included patient and family details and the in itial bereavement follow-up after the death. A total of 320 patients w ere cared for until death: 55% men, 45% women, mean age 64 years. All patients had cancer except one who had AIDS. Civil status was 64% marr ied, 20% widowed, 5% divorced or separated, 9% single, and 2% other. 4 9% lived with one other person, 19% alone, and the remainder with two or more people. Spouses were the most significant carers at 62%. Berea vement follow-up was offered to 215 or 67% of families, but this varie d greatly between the teams (10%-94%). Initial follow-up was made main ly by the nurses (78%). 50% of follow-ups were by visits, 45% by telep hone contact, 3% by letter, and 1% other. Reasons for no follow-up inc luded (a) no relatives 12%, (b) staff did not know the family well eno ugh 29%, (c) carers lived outside the visiting area of the team 25%, ( d) carers were judged as having no need 23%, (e) carers refused 1%, (e ) other 4%, and (f) not recorded 5%. The results indicate the diversit y of bereavement follow-up and suggest a need for training, clear prot ocols, and further research into the needs of families.