A survey of doctors in Ireland has found that many feel they lack the skills and confidence to offer effective end-of-life care.

The results of the consultation, which aimed to identify areas for improvement in palliative care, also indicated that there was a need for a better mechanism to identify people nearing the end-of-life.

Ireland is one of many countries in Western Europe which is facing rapid population ageing over coming years, with the proportion of people entering old age predicted to nearly double before 2021. This will also mean an increase in the number of people suffering from long-term and serious illnesses and an increased need for palliative care services.

In part to pre-empt this change, the Irish Hospice Foundation and partner organizations commissioned the report which was released yesterday entitled “Primary Palliative Care in Ireland: Identifying improvements in primary care to support the care of those in their last year of life”.

The main recommendations of the steering committee included improving access to information regarding palliative care outside of normal surgery hours, improving education in palliative care amongst Irish health care professionals and improving psychological support for both patients and families.

Read the full report here.