A concerned councillor this week warned of a potential palliative care crisis in Dumfries and Galloway as winter pressures on health services kick in.
Pauline Drysdale, who represents the Dee and Glenkens ward, spoke out after recently experiencing a challenging healthcare situation involving her own family.
One of her relatives required palliative care in Dumfries but there were no beds available in the Alexandra Unit at DGRI should they have required one.
And when caring for their loved one at home, the family was dealing with a team of specialists which was under extreme pressure due to the strain on the NHS.
Councillor Drysdale said: “We’re going to have a lot of palliative care this winter and I’m extremely concerned that people in the community are going to be left without essential support or the knowledge as to how to deal with the situation they find themselves in.
“The choice of going into hospital, or a palliative care unit, is sometimes taken away from members of the public across Dumfries and Galloway at the moment because of the bed blocking situation.”
Mrs Drysdale told the News that the family had all pulled together in looking after their relative before they passed away.
She said: “We were in a position to cope but a lot of families don’t have the ability to fend for themselves in situations such as this.
“You could have a patient lying there requiring pain relief or certain medications at end of life and you need the knowledge as to whom to turn to for emergency help or at what stage to ask the incredible Marie Curie teams to kick in.
“I understand that not everyone wants to go to a cottage hospital to die or to be alone in a hospital bed.
“But if we’re going to have care in the community, the Home Teams across the whole region need to be operating more efficiently and members of the public do need clearer guidance.”
She raised her concerns with health service and council officials and is now awaiting a follow-up meeting to talk through ideas which might be relevant to the Stewartry in particular.
She said: “We need a leaflet with directions for families and a list of contact numbers so that people know where to turn and get the help they need.
“It’s clear to me that many of us will need to step up to the mark and be able to assist, especially with the current Covid situation we yet again find ourselves in.
“This is not only with home care but also end of life care within a family home should there be no hospital beds or palliative care beds.”
A spokesman for NHS Dumfries and Galloway said: “Palliative care continues to be provided in a number of ways, rather than through one singular approach, and is focused around the need of the individual.
“Provision includes care within the home, within cottage hospitals, within Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and within Galloway Community Hospital.
“Anyone being provided palliative care at home who goes on to require care within an inpatient setting would be admitted to hospital and provided that level of care in the most appropriate way.”
