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Telemedical hospice at Ærø

Denmark Distance treatment
People in need of palliative care often wants to stay in their own local environment even if it means they will not get the much-needed specialist care. People living at Ærø, one of the Danish Baltic Sea islands, had to travel far by boat to receive palliative care which resulted in many of them saying no to the treatment. With the telemedical hospice at Ærø, patients and their relatives can now stay in the local area, which means that they can get the care and safety they need. The telemedical hospice is regional and the first of its kind. It was implemented in the autumn of 2018.
Patients in need of palliative care will no longer have to leave their relatives and the safe environment that usually surround them, as they can get specialist care close to home.
The users of this solution are patients in need of palliative care, who usually have to travel far to get the needed care.
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Quotes/testimonials

”It is a fantastic way of utilizing the technology, so that the possibilities can be maintained in the local area. And the last one and a half month was her greatest happiness, that she got to stay.”

– Jens Frøslev Christensen – his wife said no to leave the island and receive palliative care 6 years ago, so she could stay home the last time.

Elaboration

Needs and challenges

Patients living at Ærø, one of the Danish Baltic Sea islands, would normally have to travel far and leave their safe environment and families to get palliative care.

This led to a lot of them saying no to receiving care, which would otherwise make their last living time much more enjoyable.

Solution and function

The telemedical hospice will look like a normal palliative care centre, but will have big screens in every room.

These will be used by the patients and the care takers to receive guidance from specialists at another hospice or hospital on how to give the best treatment.

Implementation

The telemedical hospice is regional and the first of its kind. It was implemented in the autumn of 2018.

Experiences will be gathered to assess whether the solution should be disseminated to other parts of the country.

Economy

There are costs related to training care takers and paying their salary, and payment for the physical facilities. This solution is not about saving money, but about supporting patients in need of palliative care and creating a safe environment.

The patients and their relatives will no longer have to travel far, so they reduce costs related to going back and forth to the hospital.

In 2018 3,155 million DKK was spent on establishing the hospice, including technical equipment and salaries.
Information about the project at Regionsrådet 180122 

Process

Care takers will need training on how to provide for the patients and on how to use the technical equipment. Workflow will be more or less the same for the ones working at the hospice, only that their supervision is being giving to them on a screen.

The specialists at the other hospice/hospital will also have to get used to giving supervision through a technical device and not be able to see the patients in person.

Communication

Patients will communicate with the care takers at the telemedical hospice in person and with specialists on the screen.

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More about effects

The effect of this solution is that it makes the last living time less painful and safer for patients living at Ærø.

They can get the care they need but without having to leave their relatives or having to say no to treatment. This means that the patient can die close to relatives and with a minimum of pain.

Learnings

  • The health care workers will need to know how to use the video function on the screen, but otherwise they will take care of the patients like they normally would.  
  • The specialists at another hospice will need to learn how to provide guidance on a distance.  

The solution can be used in areas where there would not normally be access to palliative care and where patients will otherwise have to leave their safe environments to get the needed treatment.  

Hospice Sydfyn 
Skovsbovej 100  
5700 Svendborg 
Region Syddanmark

Telemedicinsk Hospice – Ærø (telemedical hospice) 

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