New guidance is intended to support consistent care for adults and children while giving staff clearer education and practical support.
Mayo University Hospital has introduced a new end-of-life policy designed to make dignity, comfort, privacy and patient choice central to care in the hospital.
The policy was developed over the past year by the hospital’s end-of-life committee with staff from across the organisation. Its publication comes ahead of Palliative Care Week, which runs from 6 to 12 September.
The hospital said the policy is intended to help clinical teams provide consistent, compassionate care for patients and their families at the end of life and after death. It also recognises spiritual and religious traditions and places an explicit focus on listening to patients and respecting their wishes.
For nurses and other staff, the policy is intended to provide a clearer framework for practice, education and support.
Caroline Conway, Nurse Practice Development Coordinator at Mayo University Hospital, said the work was developed to improve the care patients receive while also equipping staff to deliver it with confidence and compassion.
The policy covers both adult and paediatric care. Aislinn Lyons, a registered children’s nurse and end-of-life champion on the children’s ward, said the child-centred approach is intended to support children while also helping families through an exceptionally difficult period.
Colette Lenaghan, an ICU nurse and end-of-life ward champion, was part of the multidisciplinary group that developed the policy. She said the group considered the full patient and family journey rather than treating end-of-life care as a single clinical event.
Hospital chaplain Cathriona O’Mahony said the policy builds on previous quality work and reinforces the importance of listening, respecting individual wishes and supporting families. Hospital manager Catherine Donohoe said evidence-based guidance is essential both for patients and for the staff responsible for their care.
The policy reflects the Irish Hospice Foundation’s Quality Standards for End-of-Life Care in Hospitals. Those standards underpin the Hospice Friendly Hospitals programme, a partnership with the HSE that supports hospitals to embed compassionate end-of-life, palliative and bereavement care across clinical and organisational practice.
