The report on Primary Palliative Care in Ireland was launched in November 2011 which recommends a series of measures to be adopted to enhance the ability of all community based health care professionals in particular GPs and Community Nurses, to deliver quality care to people with life limiting progressive disease.   The report is based on the first phase Primary Palliative Care Programme, which is a collaborative initiative between the Irish Hospice Foundation, the Health Service Executive and the Irish College of General Practitioners. 

The report identifies a number of prioritized Primary Palliative Care initiatives to be pursued in the implementation phase of the programme commencing in 2012.  These include: 

Ø  Creating a system to identify and respond to patients with palliative care needs in the community

Ø  Developing a palliative care summary to update GP Out of Hours Services with relevant background information on the changing needs of dying patients

Ø  Clarifying the extent and means to access advice and information from specialist palliative care on a 24 hour basis

Ø  Encouraging professional bodies involved in training and development of primary health care staff to signpost existing education and training options in palliative care. 

These recommendations are based on emerging international developments in this field, as well as the analysis of the survey of Irish community based health care professionals the Primary Palliative Care programme undertook in 2010. 

The report also highlighted longer-term recommendations to fill significant gaps in service provision such as the need for flexible out of hours nursing; better communication systems between primary, secondary and tertiary care providers, more psychological support for patients and families, timely access to specialised equipment and formalising a palliative approach to care within private healthcare sector.   

A committee to oversee the implementation of the recommendations is currently being convened, and would be interested in hearing about initiatives already underway in this area and or receive feedback/ suggestions on this development.  The committee would also be willing to present the findings of this report to any interested group.  For more information or to follow up on this invitation, please contact Marie Lynch in the Irish Hospice Foundation via email: marie.lynch@hospice-foundation.ie or phone 01 673 0063.