2011; Volume 12, No 01, January

 
Roger Woodruff, MD
 

IAHPC News

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Contribution from an IAHPC Board Member on Kenya

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Regional Reports – Sudan and Egypt

IAHPC Book of the Month and Other Book Reviews

Funding Opportunities in Palliative Care – Scholarships

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Palliative Care Book of the Month and other Book Reviews

Palliative Care Book of the Month

PALLIATIVE CARE IN THE ACUTE HOSPITAL SETTING
A Practical Guide

Sara Booth, Polly Edmonds and Margaret Kendall

Oxford University Press, 2010
173 pp
ISBN 978-0-19-923892-7
RRP £29.95, $US59.95

I have maintained for many years that the most important link in the chain of palliative care services is in the acute hospital, for the great majority of patients who subsequently receive palliative care (whether in a hospice, from a community palliative care service, or in a hospital palliative care ward) have been seen and treated in the acute hospital in the recent past. That acute hospital palliative care services are becoming the ‘norm’ is gratifying, even if it has taken a long time.

Palliative care in the acute hospital setting is different to what is done in hospices or by community services.  There is the on-going interplay between the palliative care service and the other clinical units, some of whom don’t want you to see their patients until they are actively dying, some of whom don’t refer at all.  Palliative care service personnel visiting other wards have a lot to offer for both the patients and the staff, but may be mistrusted. 

This book describes all these differences, and how to recognise and deal with the bumps and hurdles that are part of running or working in an acute hospital palliative care service.  There are chapters on the structure and function of the team, organizing clinical care, interacting with other clinical units, bureaucracy and money, education and training, and research.  Finally, there is a chapter on personal survival.

The authors’ experience shines through, and the material is set out in a considered and very practical way, with lots and lots of lists.  This book should be required reading for anybody with managerial responsibility in or for a hospital palliative care service.  I think it would also be valuable for it to be available for new personnel joining the service, to help them acclimatise to the world of the acute hospital palliative care service.  I just wish this book had been available 20 years ago when I think I would have found it invaluable.

Roger Woodruff
(December 2010)

***

Other Book Reviews

BRIEF INTERVENTIONS WITH BEREAVED CHILDREN. 2e

Barbara Monroe and Frances Kraus (eds)

Oxford University Press, 2010
257pp
ISBN 978-0-19-956164-3
RRP £29.95, $US59.95

When I reviewed the first edition in 2005, I wrote, ‘Reading this book brought back memories that I do not cherish from a long time ago, but my spirit was lightened reading about the enormous and continuing advances made in the management of bereaved children that have occurred since that time.’ Some things change little with time, but I couldn’t help but be impressed by the continuing development in the field of childhood bereavement. The range and variety of interventions described is most impressive. Again, I was drawn to the chapter on family interventions before bereavement, described as swampy ground. But where this is possible, it is surely the best way and demonstrates that grief and bereavement are ‘normal’ and not pathological.

If your work involves dealing with bereaved children, you need to read this book.

***

TRANSFORMING PALLIATIVE CARE IN NURSING HOMES
The Social Work Role

Mercedes Bern-Klug (ed)

Columbia University Press, 2010
360 pp
ISBN 978-0-231-13225-1
RRP $US45.00, £31.00

Review copy supplied by Footprint Books www.footprint.com.au

This book is dedicated to the idea that people who live in nursing homes can thrive even as they approach the end of their lives.  To achieve this, excellent physical care and a supportive environment are necessary, but the psychological and social needs must also be met. 

The book is structured around the Quality Palliative Care guidelines and has chapters on physical, psychological, social, spiritual and cultural aspects of care as well as the ethical and legal issues that are involved.  I thought the chapter on self-care and staff-care was particularly good; the Burnout Measure Short Version in the appendix is something I had not come across before and will not trouble you with my score.

Although the subtitle refers to the role of social work, there is a lot of material in this book that would be of interest (and use) to other palliative care professionals (in addition to social workers) and to people who practise palliative care in other settings.

***

DRUGS IN PALLIATIVE CARE

Andrew Dickman

Oxford University Press, 2010
502pp
ISBN 978-0-19-956397-5
RRP £29.95, $US49.95

This is another of the pocket-sized Oxford Medical Publications.  The opening chapters provide an overview of pharmacology and prescribing advice, following which there are more than 150 drug monographs in alphabetical order.  I found the information well presented and didn’t come across anything with which I disagreed. 

This book invites comparison with the third edition of the Palliative Care Formulary.  The latter is more detailed, deals with drugs according to class, and is extensively referenced.  However, the Oxford book is just a little over half the price, it fits in your pocket, and I think it contains most of the information that junior staff and nurses staff would need, without reading through a lot of background material.  The information in the Oxford book is very accessible and it would certainly be worth having on a hospice or palliative care ward for quick reference.

***

Roger Woodruff
(December 2010)

Dr. Woodruff is a Lifetime Member of the IAHPC Board and lives in Australia. His biography is at:
http://www.hospicecare.com/Bio/r_woodruff.htm


View over 100+ IAHPC hospice & palliative care book reviews
www.hospicecare.com/bookshop/hospice-palliative-care-book-reviews


Note for authors: If you wish to have your book reviewed, please send to:

Dr Roger Woodruff
IAHPC Bookshop Editor
210 Burgundy St, Suite 9
Heidelberg, Victoria 3084
AUSTRALIA

Note: Review copies become property of IAHPC and are not returned to the author. Only palliative care related books which are previously approved will be reviewed. Due to the large number of requests, we can't provide exact dates of when books will be reviewed.

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