AUDITING PALLIATIVE CARE IN ONE GENERAL-PRACTICE OVER 8 YEARS

Objective - To document the delivery and outcome of palliative care in one practice, Design - All appropriate deaths were documented over th e period of the study, Setting - One general practice of four doctors caring for 8000 patients in the North-West of England, Subjects - All patients dying of malignant disease which had included a palliative ph ase of at least one week, Main outcome measures - Place of death; cont inuity of care; general practitioners' assessment of symptom relief; f ollow-up of bereaved relatives, Results - 118 deaths from terminal mal ignant disease were recorded over eight years in my practice. 75% were being cared for by us (GPs) at the time of death, More detailed infor mation was recorded on 64 of these patients showing generally ''satisf actory'' care, Conclusions - A simple audit can help maintain high sta ndards of palliative care, General practitioners are encouraged to mai ntain registers of the care received by terminally-ill patients as an aid to quality assurance in this area.