National Palliative Care Support Beds Survey
“The National Advisory Committee on Palliative Care (NACPC) Report, (Department of Health and Children, 2001) introduced the idea of palliative care support beds (PCSBs) as a way to provide an intermediate level of in-patient palliative care for patients in a local environment, typically in designated centres for older people. Although in 2011, 179 PCSBs were reported to exist there is much regional variation in organisation and capacity. The National Clinical Programme for Palliative Care Working Group identified the need to conduct a review of the organisation and function of PCSBs in Ireland in order to provide strategic direction on the future of the services provided. The Group established the PCSB subgroup in December 2011 with the following aims:
- To describe the current organisation and function of the palliative care support beds,
- To conduct further analysis of the contribution/ value the beds offer to the system,
- Produce recommendations about the development of palliative care support beds.