Palliative Medicine Refresher Meeting Tuesday 14th November 2023

Posted on by Dr R Hussain

This meeting took place on Tuesday 14th November 2023. Dr Rachel Sheils, Palliative Care Consultant at Overgate Hospice and Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust, presented a comprehensive Refresher on Palliative Medicine to the group.

Topics included:

  • Guidance on symptom control in Palliative Care patients including how to manage pain, constipation, nausea and vomiting, breathlessness and seizures
  • Steroid and opioid prescribing in palliative care
  • Advice regarding documentation including new community palliative MARS chart (“pink chart”), OOH palliative care handover form, ReSPECT forms and SR1 form online.
  • Emergencies in Palliative Medicine
  • Hot Topics – Substance Misuse and last weeks of life, Day Hospice services.

The presentation and Q&A for the meeting are attached below as well as the Gold Standards Framework Proactive Identification Guidance 2022:

Some of the other resources signposted to in the presentation are linked below:

  1. Optimal Calculator to calculate doses when switching Parkinson’s Disease Medication to Rotigotine Patch if the patient is unable to swallow:

https://www.parkinsonscalculator.com

  1. Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool

https://www.spict.org.uk/the-spict/

  1. Guidance for completing a medical certificate of cause of death

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-notes-for-completing-a-medical-certificate-of-cause-of-death/guidance-for-doctors-completing-medical-certificates-of-cause-of-death-in-england-and-wales-accessible-version

  1. Guidance on The Special Rules and SR1 form

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-factual-medical-reports-guidance-for-healthcare-professionals/the-special-rules-how-the-benefit-system-supports-people-nearing-the-end-of-life

Attached below are the meeting presentation and question and answers:

PennineGPLearning CPD November 2023

Palliative Care Meeting Q&A 14th November 2023

Gold Standards Framework Proactive Identification Guidance v7 (2022)

Please be aware that information in the field of medicine changes all the time, so we cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data when you read it, it is here for General Practitioners to learn.