A HEALTH group in Shropshire has published its report into the experiences of palliative care in the county.

Healthwatch Shropshire, which acts as a watchdog over health services in the county, released its report about how end of life care is working in Shropshire, using the experiences of people who have used the service in recent months.

Lynn Cawley, chief officer of Healthwatch Shropshire, thanked all those who shared their experiences with the group and says more experiences are welcome.

She said: “We are very grateful that families who have just been through, or were going through, one of the most difficult times in their lives took the time to talk to us.

"We have shared the report with the local health services and are confident that the experiences that the families have shared will be used to improve the services offered in future.

"We are still keen to hear about people’s experiences, both good and not so good, as they are crucial in helping local services understand what is important to patients and their families and how things can be improved.”

The key findings were:

· Overall the people who shared their experiences with us reported slightly more positive aspects about their experiences of palliative/end of life care than negative aspects. However nearly 80 per cent of experiences included at least one negative aspect.

· The majority of negative experiences were around communication and information, treatment and continuity of care.

· A theme apparent from the feedback is that once it is acknowledged by staff that the patient is in need of end of life care the patient’s and family’s experience is more positive, e.g. when they go on to receive hospice services or care from the End of Life Care Team in hospitals.

· Some families found a lack of recognition by professionals that the person was at end of life and did not have the opportunity to prepare for the end of life.

· The lack of good communication or timely, relevant and accessible information was raised in 30 per cent of experiences.

· Three families who were using end of life services in the community reported experiencing problems getting the correct medication for their relative.

· Four families had negative experiences of the rooms and facilities available in hospital at the end of life.

· Several comments raised the unsettling effect of a lack of regular care staff on patients at the end of life.

Both Healthwatch Telford & Wrekin and Healthwatch Shropshire have been looking into these services and the reports can be found at www.healthwatchshropshire.co.uk and www.healthwatchtelfordandwrekin.co.uk