Abstract
back(69) The Importance of Palliative Care Nursing at the Time of COVID-19
Ms. Kwok-Yin LIN1
1Children's Palliative Care Foundation, Hong Kong SAR
COVID-19 outbreak is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation and has brought a tsunami of suffering that is devastating. Due to its highly infectious nature, it often leads to patients facing their final journey in social desolation. Additionally, due to stretched health-care resources and strict infection precautions, a dignified death may be compromised.
Despite the challenging circumstances of this pandemic, it is important not to lose sight of the important elements of holistic care of the dying person. Palliative care nursing at this time seems particularly important since being health-care professionals should aim to provide quality holistic care to all critically ill patients. This includes effective communication including clear decision-making and discussion on advance care planning, adequate pain, and symptom management, opportunity to prepare for death, emotional and spiritual support, support for those close to the dying person, including the ability to keep in touch via phone or virtual communication. As far as possible, try to make the immediate environment as conducive as possible to a peaceful and dignified death if death is finally inevitable.
The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to surpass the capacity of the healthcare system and will create a need for integration of palliative care into pandemic planning. The holistic approach palliative care should be ensured as an integral component of nursing practice, regardless of specialty or setting. It is imperative that policymakers, nurse educators, organizations, and systems that oversee and provide health care understand the unique characteristics associated with palliative care nursing’s role in health care and public health emergency preparedness. We need to learn from this experience that the urgent need of palliative care nursing education and the reasons for establishing appropriate training to strengthen the palliative care knowledge and skills of all nurses in the context of the COVID era should be emphasized.