Caring for a Dying Patient in Hospital by Katherine E Sleeman - Article Example

Assessment of a dying patient A patient is assessed to see his/her current situation, psychological, social, emotional, and physical state, this helps identify is he/she is almost passing away, this will also help to develop strategies to deal with the situation at large, likewise to patients with non-verbal state, facial expression, breathing or even their movement should be taken into consideration. Management of a dying patient This involves a lot of sacrifice to the patient by the doctor or nurse.

In the UK they mostly use Liverpool Care Pathway, this translates best care practice to the patients in their last moments from the hospice to hospital setting. This is done in four hourly sessions (Jennings A, Davies A) There are also several ways of caring for the patient, emotionally, physically, and psychologically. At the end of life, a patient may show some signs of breathlessness than by the show of signs such as oxygen saturation, pain, agitation, constipation and vomiting, and nausea.

However, the cause of the sign should be taken into consideration to get them to the right treatment. Family support or identification of carers is essential when it comes to the social caring of a patient. Family members should be there for a patient to make them feel important and have someone to chat with within the case of a patient who is still able to talk. This gives them a sense of belonging. At some point, patients become agitated, it is therefore important for the dying patient to remain conscious and gently explore their fears and concerns, this helps to lessen anxiety.

Patients might even come up with questions such as what will happen to their children if they die, so it is important for the carer to provide valid answers that will encourage them. Spirituality is very essential for some of the dying patients, so it is therefore very important to help them identify with a specific faith or religion. Asking those questions such as” where do you find your faith” questions can be very useful without having diverged confrontation with the patient (.

Davies JM, Gao W, Sleeman KE, 2016) End communication is very crucial to dying patients, it strengthens them, and skills such as observation, reflection, and feedback should be developed to be able to communicate with these patients effectively. As Kathleen says, a dying patient should be taken care of keenly by the doctors or nurses and even the family members, this will help them die peacefully and have a sense and belonging and being wanted by the community members or family with whom they identify with.

They should identify with the signs of end times and have the possible precautions necessary for them to care for the patient especially their needs and wants. Social care for the dying patients as talked about in the article provides the patient with a belief that there are some people who really care for them despite being on the death bed. They feel loved and cared for not only by the doctors or carers but also by the family at large. The family members are therefore advised to converse with the patient in cases where he/she can still chat.

This can also enable the family members to know some important details that a patient needs. For example where they would like to be buried or even if they have a will. Patients are very delicate when it comes to certain issues, therefore psychological care is recommended for the dying ones. It is very essential for the doctors or family members to take notes or have certain skills required to be able not to amuse them or even cause anxiety to the patients. These anxieties can manifest into agitations which can cause easy death to the patients.

This can help lessen fears and anxiety in patients with consciousness. End of life communication, this kind of communication is very important to both the family members and the dying patient, it is, therefore, important to develop some skills while dealing with the patient. There should be feedback and some listening skills employed here. The environment in which the communication will be held should be considered important i.e. there should be privacy at all levels. The nurse should be available during this session to help support the patient if the need arises.

Conclusion During the end time, the dying should be taken good care of especially by the doctors and family members, a lot of strategies should be put into use to enable these patients to feel comfortable and more wanted by the family members. Adequate care facilities should be put into place such as Liverpool Care Pathway, to give them credible attention at all the time. The signs of the dying patients should also be learned at all cost, such as breathlessness, agitation, nausea and constipation to having strategies to deal with theses and administer appropriate medicine for the same.