The role of specialist palliative care in managing patients with multimorbidity
- Correspondence to Dr Molly Jane Calam, Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice, Church Road, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL53 0QJ, UK; Molly.Calam{at}glos.nhs.uk
Abstract
This case report describes a patient with multiple morbidity resulting from complicated type 2 diabetes, psoriatic arthritis and abdominal surgery. It highlights the importance of specialist palliative care services in meeting his complex holistic care needs. We acknowledge the growing number of patients living with multiple morbidity and the challenges this group can present. There is then a debate around when to involve specialist palliative care services in the management of multiple morbidity given that there is often an uncertain disease trajectory.
Footnotes
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Competing interests None.
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Patient consent Obtained.
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Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
- Received 1 August 2011.
- Accepted 21 November 2011.
- Published Online First 4 January 2012
- Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions
