Valuing community palliative care nursing during the pandemic

The thought of going into hospital for non-emergency interventions during the pandemic can be frightening, for fear of contracting the coronavirus. For people in the palliative care phase, hospitals may be considered to increase the risk of contracting the disease, and therefore, a reluctance to go into hospitals. While the rationale may focus on reducing risk, it can also allow health conditions to deteriorate, with possible fatal consequences. When this happens, most of the palliative care is provided in the community without much recognition or appreciation of the health professionals, such as community nurses, who make a positive impact on people's quality of life. While community palliative care nursing has a number of different models of provision, for example, standard and enhanced community-based palliative care, and delivered in different settings (care homes, nursing homes, hostels and patients' own homes), the central point is that, despite these differences, the outcome of care should address and support patients' pressing needs and the needs of those close to them (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2018). Community palliative care nursing is set up to coordinate care through honest care planning, underpinned by empathy and holistic appreciation that patients not only come with complex needs, but that finding smart solutions will support and manage their overall wellbeing and quality of life. Offering such a humanistic approach to care does not only recognise the fears inherent in some patients about going into hospital, but reaffirms their safety while ensuring high-quality care for all. More should be done to support and appreciate community palliative care nursing, especially during this pandemic.