ONCOLO GICAL PALIAT IVE CARE ANALYSIS IN A PRIVAT E HOSPITAL IN MONTEVIDEO

Abstract

“The Palliative Care Unit is defined as an organization of health professionals providing multidisciplinary care through a broad spectrum of forms of assistance which necessarily includes hospitalization in specific beds. The UCP must meet functional, structural and organizational requirements that ensure adequate conditions of quality, safety and efficiency to perform this activity “(1). The overall objective is to analyze the welfare aspect of the Oncology Palliative Care Unit of a Hospital located in Montevideo in its first year of operation. The methodology performed is a descriptive, retrospective cross-sectional study.
The results show that 379 users were treated and 2487 consultations were performed in sanatorium, clinic and user´s home. Most users served are males with an average age of 76, being derived mostly by oncologists. The elastomeric infusor was used in 85 of them. 301 died, the majority of deaths occurring in the Hospi Saunders II. In regards to psychological care, its risk and need was assessed for 117 users and their families. A letter of condolence was sent to 57 families, and 13 mourning families were assisted. The Ministry of Public Health considers that 921 users could receive palliative care in our institution. 379 users were helped in a year by this unit. This is an important quantity; comparing data concerning other palliative care units in Uruguay.