Table 2 NICE guidelines on dementia: key palliative care components1.
• Dementia care should incorporate a palliative care approach including the Gold Standards Framework and the Liverpool care pathway for the dying patient. |
• Advance care planning should be utilised by health and social care professionals, guided by the patient and/or carer where appropriate. |
• The role of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 for advance decisions to refuse treatment and the Preferred Place of Care documentation are emphasised. |
• Palliative care services should be available to people with dementia in the same way that they are available to people who do not have dementia. |
• Artificial feeding, antibiotics for fever and cardiopulmonary resuscitation are generally not appropriate in the terminal stages of dementia. |
• If people with dementia have unexplained changes in behaviour they should be assessed to see whether they are experiencing pain, potentially by the use of an observational pain assessment tool. |
NICE, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.