Exploring the concept of quality care for the person who is dying

The concept of good quality care for the patient who is dying is diverse and complex. Many of the actions that are being taken to increase the quality of care of the dying patient are based around outcome, uniformity of service and standardization of process. There are two main areas that are referred to when dealing with care of the dying patient; end-of-life care and palliative care. High quality end-of-life care is increasingly recognized as an ethical obligation of health-care providers, clinicians and organizations, and yet there appears little evidence from the patients' perspective. There are many national and local initiatives taking place to improve the quality of care people receive towards the end of their life. This being said initiatives alone will not achieve good quality care and deliver good patient experiences. Only clinicians working at the front line can truly influence the way in which quality is improved and good experiences delivered.