Last days of life

Helping patients navigate the last days of life in the community can be a significant challenge for primary healthcare professionals. General practices will often have their own policies and practices relating to end of life care, reflecting the unique settings, demographics and resource constraints under which they operate.In 2023, bpacnz published Navigating the last days of life: a general practice perspective with the support of Te Aho o Te Kahu, Cancer Control Agency, reviewing the essential components and considerations required to provide quality end of life care in the community. In addition, we also released a series of associated articles on managing common symptoms within this context, including: Managing pain in the last days of life Managing nausea and vomiting in the last days of life Managing delirium and psychological symptoms in the last days of life Managing dyspnoea in the last days of life Managing excessive respiratory secretions in the last days of life In support of this work, a peer group discussion was also released, intended as a prompt for general practices to reflect on their approach to care delivery, and consider opportunities for improvement depending on their particular circumstances.The following podcast involves a conversation with several experts who champion efforts to improve the standard of end of life care within New Zealand. This resource expands on many of the key points that will likely arise during peer group discussions or during self-reflection of practice, adding another layer of perspective when considering how improvements could be made.For a transcript of this podcast, further resources recommended or noted during the discussion and acknowledgements, see: https://bpac.org.nz/2024/ldol.aspx.The information in bpacnz Podcasts and Publications is specifically designed to address conditions and requirements in New Zealand and support health professionals in New Zealand and as such assumes the level of professional training required to appropriately interpret the advice contained therein. The information should be interpreted in light of professional knowledge and supplemented as necessary by specialised publications and by reference to literature. bpacnz Podcasts are for information purposes only and do not constitute medical advice.

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