[Current situation of available back-up beds for terminal home care patients]

The Palliative Care Unit at Heiwa Hospital has 16 beds, and offers inpatient support in general wards, as well as back-up beds in emergencies in collaboration with local home care support clinics. For two years from January 2012 to December 2013, there were 1,213 cases where patients were seen for initial outpatient visits at the Department of Palliative Care. At the time of the initial visit, visiting medical care had been introduced for 25% of the cases. Although 59% of the patients who visited our department are hospitalized, 20% of inpatients have been hospitalized at the request of their home care physician. The availability of back-upbeds offers patients and their families, as well as related medical institutions, a sense of security, and enables home care to continue. The significance of back-upbeds will become even more important in the future.