Evaluation of Palliative Care Related Hospital Admissions in a Regional Centre

Abstract

Objectives A significant proportion of adults admitted to hospital are in their last year of life. We evaluated admissions for these patients. Methods We identified ambulance callouts to patients known to the palliative care team. Data collected included admission outcome (e.g. discharge or death). Results There were 162 ambulance callouts between 126 patients known to the palliative care team. 8 patients (6%) died within 72 hours of admission. Conclusion Our data suggests many palliative care patients can be appropriately treated in the community.