Understanding the Patient Experience of “as-Required” Medication in a Hospice In-Patient Unit

Background: Timely administration of ‘as-required’ medication is important for managing patients’ symptoms in palliative care. There are no national or local standards around the maximum length of time for the process to administer ‘as-required’ medication and little in the literature to inform practice. Our aim was to understand the patient experience of receiving these medications in the in-patient setting of a hospice. Methods: A survey of hospice patients who had been on the ward at least seven days was conducted over a fifteen-week period looking at current practice, the patient experience of requesting medication and how long it took to be administered. Results: Thirty-one responses were obtained. Patients made their requests in a variety of ways but 33% did not use their call bell. When looking at their most recent ‘as-required’ medication request, 87% of patients estimated that they received it within ten minutes. When considering their longest wait, 16% of patients reported waiting longer than twenty minutes. Conclusion: This survey highlights the importance of there being a variety of ways for patients to request ‘as-required’ medication and staff being proactive with patients to facilitate these requests. Patients perceive nursing staff to be busy and do not want to bother them. Although usually patients get their medication within ten minutes, patients can be waiting more than twenty minutes. There is a need for national standards on time to administer as-required medication within a healthcare setting and a need for more data to inform such a standard.