Patient Charter

Galway Hospice Foundation Patients Charter

PI-CS-8 Rev. 2 Active Date 11 May 2021

Access to Safe & Effective Services

We will provide access to appropriate and timely care in a safe environment, delivered by competent, skilled, and trusted professionals. Patient safety and infection prevention & control are paramount and are at the centre of our patient care. Please let us know if you have any queries or concerns.

Dignity & Respect

You, your family and carers have the right to be treated in a courteous manner, with dignity, respect and compassion by every member of the hospice staff and volunteers. We respect diversity of culture, beliefs, values including your spiritual beliefs and other characteristics such as age, gender, sexual orientation, faith, disability, in line with clinical decision making. End of life care is delivered in a caring, respectful and compassionate environment. Please treat staff and other patients / their family members with dignity, respect and consideration. Any form of abuse physical, verbal or otherwise is not acceptable.

Comments, Complaints & Feedback

We welcome your feedback about our care and services. We value compliments and expressions of satisfaction or dissatisfaction about any aspect of your care. We will work to address any concerns that you raise. You have the right to complain about any aspect of the hospice service, to have the complaint investigated and to be informed of the outcome as soon as possible.

Complaints can be made to any staff member, and will be handled as per our Complaints Policy. You are also invited to complete our Comment Form which records positive or negative comments on your experiences at the hospice. This information helps us to continually improve our quality standards.

Communication and Participation Concerning Your Care and Treatment

We will listen to you carefully and communicate openly and honestly, and provide clear comprehensive and understandable information and advice.

You have the right to be informed of the name of the staff responsible for your care. You have the right to be informed of the nature of your illness or condition in a language that you can fully understand.

You have the right to seek a second opinion, and our staff will endeavour to facilitate your request within the medical resources available.

We encourage you to participate in your care, to ask questions and seek clarity and understanding. When necessary, interpretative services are available.

We involve families and carers in shared decision making about patient care and treatment as permitted by the patient. We will ensure that pain and any other symptoms will be assessed and managed appropriately. Our staff and Consultants respect the rights of patients to determine what information regarding their care would be provided to family and others, and under what circumstances.

You have a right on your discharge from the hospice to be referred to other healthcare services and to have these healthcare services updated on the nature of your condition, the treatment you received while in the hospice and the medication required by you.

Visiting Arrangements

There is no limit on visiting hours, subject to you being willing and well enough to accept visitors. You have the right to receive visits from your relatives and friends and to decline visitors in line with hospice policy. All visitors are required to check in at the Reception Desk, so that staff can assess if a visit is suitable at that time for you.

Privacy & Confidentiality

You have the right to have your privacy respected, especially when the nature of your clinical condition is being discussed with you, and/or, your relatives by hospice staff. You have a right to total confidentiality in respect of your medical records. Confidentiality will be upheld during quality assurance audits. You have the right to request the hospice to make details of your relevant medical records available to you. Your medical record or personal information will not be released to any external organisation without your permission (except in the event of your referral or transfer to another hospital/healthcare professional or as a requirement of statutory obligations). Limits to confidentiality apply if there was a concern about your safety, or that of another person.

Consent to Treatment

Generally, treatment should only be given to a patient with his or her informed consent. Informed consent is sought prior to medical and /or invasive investigations or treatments following a discussion of options, alternatives, risks, benefits and expected outcomes. You may request the presence of a person(s) of your choosing during the consent process.

In an emergency situation, the doctor may determine that urgent treatment should proceed without informed consent. You have the right at any time to refuse or discontinue treatment. If you refuse or discontinue treatment, your doctor will inform you about the possible consequences of your decision.

Person-centred Care

We want to offer people who are living with a life limiting illness the highest quality of care and support. We wish to help you live as well as you can, for as long as you can. Therefore, if and when you want us to, we will:

• Listen to your wishes about the remainder of your life, including your final days and hours, answer as best we can any questions that you have and provide you with the information that you feel you need.

• Help you think ahead so as to identify the choices that you may face, assist you to record your decisions and do our best to ensure that your wishes are fulfilled, wherever possible, by all those who offer you care and support.

• Talk with you and the people who are important to you about your future needs. We will do this as often as you feel the need, so that you can all understand and prepare for everything that is likely to happen.

• Endeavour to provide factual and up to date information of your needs and wishes to those who offer you care and support.

• Do our utmost to ensure that you are as comfortable as possible, and that you receive all the particular specialist care and emotional and spiritual support that you need.

• Do all we can to help you preserve your independence, dignity and sense of personal control throughout the course of your illness.

• Support the people who are important to you, both as you approach the end of your life and during their bereavement. We also invite your ideas and suggestions as to how we can improve the care and support that we deliver to you, the people who are important to you and others who may be in similar situations.