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Pepper2003 Asked July 2014

How often should general practitioner's (GP's) make palliative care visits?

One doctor has told me it is fort nightly and another GP has said it is monthly. I was told that palliative care visits are made for people with terminal illnesses and mean that there is no need for distressing postmortems on people who do not have long to live.

Pepper2003 Jul 2014
There are supposed to be nurse visits but they are very infrequent, the last one was weeks ago and they don't do anything. They all say 'you are so capable'...
My husband was given 6 months to live 3 years ago and they have told me that if he went into a hospital he wouldn't last a week! How shocking is that! Says a lot for our NHS here. I'm not sure if once a month is enough to avoid a post mortem as the other doctor said it should be once a fortnight! Little bit confused....

jeannegibbs Jul 2014
Hmmm ... a chocolate teapot might be good for serving milk or iced tea. :)

Are there nurse visits between the doctor visits? Do you want more visits from the doctor? If once a month is enough to avoid a post mortem, is that good enough for you, or are you wanting some additional medical service?

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Pepper2003 Jul 2014
Thank you jeannegibbs for your hugs, this is really nice of you. We are in the UK so may be different here. Our GP said that she should visit once a fortnight to avoid a post mortem, she offered me comfort and I knew she cared. Then she left and the new doctor is as useful as a chocolate teapot and said that he only needs to come once a month. My husband is not on any medication he just cannot do ANYTHING for himself and I care for him 24/7.

jeannegibbs Jul 2014
Pepper, where are you located? Would you care to give a little more background about your situation?

It is always hard to have a loved one deemed to be close to death. My sincere and heartfelt warm hugs to you!

jeannegibbs Jul 2014
While my husband was on "Palliative Care" he did not see a doctor at all. Then he went on "Hospice" and again did not see a doctor at all. (This was probably a 3 month period.) He had regular care up to this point and his doctors were very familiar with his health situation. While he was on Hospice the nurse consulted the hospice doctor about his medications. We were told that we could also consult his primary care doctor. There was no need to.

A post mortem examination was not required for my husband, but I did follow my husband's wishes for an autopsy and contribution of brain tissue to research on the disease he had. Far from being distressing to me, it gives me comfort to think that my husband was generous to the end, and having his tissues in a brain bank continues to help fight cruel dementia. But, of course, no autopsy is required.

My mother has been on Hospice care a little over 3 months, in a nursing home. I am not aware of a doctor seeing her at all during that period, but it could have happened routinely. Mostly med adjustments were made by phone consultations. This week my mother was dismissed from hospice, because she recovered and is no longer showing signs of imminent death.

Your use of "fortnightly" makes me think you are not in the US, so what I have said might not apply to your situation. Pepper, are you wanting more or less consultation with a doctor? What is your concern about doctor visits?

Pepper2003 Jul 2014
Thank you for your answer but we are not under Hospice, just GP care.

pamstegma Jul 2014
Once you are under Hospice, you are no longer a patient of your GP. Hospice MD's are in charge of your care, and they are called in by the visiting nurse if needed. No there is no need to call the medical examiner either, the death certificate is signed by the Hospice MD. When the patient dies, you call Hospice and a Nurse responds quickly. Ours came in 90 minutes.

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