Stroke carries a significant risk of death and is one of the three biggest causes of death in Scotland. It is estimated that approximately 15% of patients admitted to hospital with a stroke die within 30 days. Thus, end-of-life care is an important clinical issue for the stroke team.
A wealth of information already exists on providing compassionate, person centred and sensitive end-of-life care. This module focuses on end-of-life care following acute stroke (within 30 days). On completion of this module you should have a critical understanding of the complexities of end-of-life care relevant to stroke, and its impact on families. The common issues affecting patients and their families are illustrated in this module; we have also supplied references for other reading to expand your knowledge further. Certain aspects of stroke care are covered in more details in other advancing modules (such as Hydration and nutrition, Emotional impact of stroke, Communication, Physiological monitoring, Pain management, Sensitive & effective conversations at end-of-life care after acute stroke).
On completion of this module, you will:
- Have a knowledge of ethical and legal aspects of care at end-of-life following acute stroke, including Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR)
- Have a knowledge of the legal aspects of the Adults with Incapacity Act (Scotland)
- Have a knowledge of symptom management
- Recognise the importance of support and communication and given recent changes in the law this should include discussions on tissue donation
- Have an awareness of the importance of spiritual and religious care
- Understand the role of specialist palliative care services
- Recognise the particular challenges of predicting outcome following stroke and the impact of this on families
- Recognise the role of the multidisciplinary team and families in the decision making process (e.g. clinically assisted nutrition and hydration)
- Have a knowledge of anticipatory care planning
It is useful to consider what we mean by palliative care and end-of-life care.
Click the links below for other modules relevant to End of Life care:
STARS AM 18: Sensitive and effective conversations at end-of-life care after acute stroke
STARS AM14: Pain management following stroke
Page last reviewed: 08 Nov 2021
