Table 1.
Characteristics of the 11 palliative care teams in study
| Team | No of deaths in comparison region in 2009-11 | No of admissions to team in 2009-11 | No (%) of rural admissions to team* | Date team established | Mean (SD) time in team’s care before death (days) | No of full time equivalent team members | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palliative care physicians | Nurses | Other† | ||||||
| 1 | 16 243 | 830 | ≤5 (0.6) | 2009 | 68 (79) | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 240 | 221 | ≤5 (0.9) | 2009 | 97 (117) | 1 | 2 | 1.5 |
| 3 | 1 534 | 144 | 9 (6.3) | 2009 | 83 (102) | 1 | 1 | 0.6 |
| 4 | 1 670 | 125 | ≤5 (3.2) | 2009 | 66 (86) | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | 3 102 | 105 | ≤5 (1.9) | 2009 | 72 (85) | 0.5 | 1 | 0.2 |
| 6 | 1 185 | 90 | 58 (64.4) | 2009 | 93 (97) | 2 | 2 | 1.2 |
| 7 | 7 629 | 676 | ≤5 (0.1) | 1986 | 71 (83) | 11.5 | 1 | 5.9 |
| 8 | 5 264 | 497 | 41 (8.2) | 2007 | 82 (93) | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 9 | 840 | 775 | 100 (12.9) | 1998 | 73 (98) | 1.3 | 3 | 1.7 |
| 10 | 737 | 268 | 36 (13.4) | 2004 | 60 (96) | 0.6 | 1 | 2.5 |
| 11 | 689 | 181 | 66 (36.5) | 1979 | 63 (102) | 6 | 2 | 4.7 |
| Pooled | 41 133 | 3 912 | 324 (8.3) | N/A | 73 (92) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
*Community population <10 000.
†Other team members vary by team, including psychosocial worker, bereavement counselor, social worker, administrative support, etc.