Table 11 Use of indicators to ‘flag’ patients’ needs for SPC

‘Flagging up’ patients’ needs for SPC

‘the palliative care register, they have the traffic light system…green is that [patients] are ticking along very nicely, and they’re doing alright, amber is that they’re rather slightly deteriorating but, you know, could go either way, and red is that they are deteriorating’ (SPC doctor 2)

“we think this patient is in their last year” and “we think they should go on your Gold Standards (Framework), so at least we would be flagging up to the GP that this is the time to start considering these things” (SPC nurse 4)

Identification of ‘triggers’ signifying patients could benefit from SPC referral

‘if the patient's response [to transfusions] is either not as good, or not lasting as long, those should be the triggers that the disease is changing, they need to start to broach the idea of palliative input…and to think about involving the GP’ (SPC nurse 6)