Published on: May 28, 2012

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has, on 23 May 2012, published a new guideline, Opioids in palliative care (CG140),  to help ensure consistent and adequate prescribing of opioids for patients with terminal or chronic conditions.

The guidelines will support: better communication between healthcare professionals and patients receiving strong opioids, as well as providing consistency across all healthcare settings.

Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Compassion in Dying said:

“Compassion in Dying supports patients to have the best death possible for them by ensuring they understand their rights at the end of life, so that they are at the centre of decisions made about their end-of-life care and treatment.

The welcome new guideline addresses two of the barriers many patients face in having a good death; adequate pain relief and good communication.  It is crucial that patients are as informed and involved in their end-of-life care and treatment decisions as possible, and it is vital that they receive enough pain relief.

This guideline will support healthcare professionals in providing good end-of-life care across all settings, and will help to ensure that many people have what they consider to be a  good death with their pain properly managed.”

BBC coverage on the report:

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