Palliative Care and the Importance of Communication with Seriously Ill Patients and Their Relatives

Paliativna oskrba je sestavni del zdravstvene obravnave bolnikov ob napredovali neozdravljivi bolezni in nudi najboljšo kakovost življenja bolnikom in njegovim svojcem, z upoštevanjem psihosocialnih in duhovnih potreb. Le te se z napredovanjem bolezni stopnjujejo in narekujejo organizirano vključevanje različnih strokovnjakov, zato moramo stremeti k zagotavljanju čim višje kakovosti paliativne oskrbe, kjer bo le ta organizirana na vseh ravneh, koordinirana in kontinuirana, če je le mogoče tam, kjer bolnik želi. Eden izmed temeljev dobre oskrbe hudo bolnih bolnikov in njihovih svojcev pa je dobra komunikacija. Diplomsko delo Paliativna oskrba in pomen komunikacije s hudo bolnimi bolniki in njihovimi svojci je sestavljeno iz dveh delov. V prvem (teoretičnem) delu je predstavljena neozdravljiva bolezen – rak, opredelitev paliativne oskrbe in paliativne zdravstvene nege, komunikacija s hudo bolnimi bolniki in njihovimi svojci in celostna oskrba svojcev umirajočega. V drugem (empiričnem) delu diplomske naloge so predstavljeni izsledki raziskave, s katero smo želeli ugotoviti načine komunikacij, ravnanja in odnos zaposlenih v zdravstveni negi bolnišnice Topolšica, pri delu s hudo bolnimi bolniki in njihovimi svojci. Rezultati raziskave so pokazali, da zaposleni uporabljajo pri svojem delu verbalno in neverbalno komunikacijo, ravnanje in odnos zaposlenih s hudo bolnimi bolniki in njihovimi svojci je spoštljiv, partnerski, strokoven, glavno vodilo pa je kvalitetno opravljeno delo, uspešno sodelovanje, strokovna prijaznost ter zadovoljstvo pri opravljenem delu.Palliative care is a constituent part of medical care of patients in case of a progressed incurable disease, offering the best quality of life to patients and their family while taking into account their psychosocial and spiritual needs. As the disease progresses, those needs increase and demand organised cooperation of various experts. That is why we must strive to ensure a high quality of palliative care that should be organised at all levels, coordinated and continued where the patient wants it. One of the foundations of quality care of severely ill patients and their family is good communication. The thesis Palliative Care and the Importance of Communication with Seriously Ill Patients and Their Relatives consists of two parts. The first (theoretical) part discusses a terminal disease – cancer, defines palliative care and palliative healthcare, communication with severely ill patients and their family and comprehensive care of the dying person’s family. The second (empirical) part of the thesis presents the results of the study by means of which we examined the manners of communication, treatment and the attitude of the employees in the Topolšica hospital towards their work with severely ill patients and their families. The results of the study have shown that the employees use verbal as well as non-verbal communication, they treat the severely ill patients and their families respectfully, professionally and in a friendly manner, their main goal being high-quality work, successful cooperation, professional kindness and work satisfaction