Drink and Drugs News End of Life Care_Supplement_FINAL

DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS – SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
END OF LIFE CARE FOR PEOPLE
WITH PROBLEMATIC SUBSTANCE
USE AND THEIR FAMILIES
People with alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems, and their families,
deserve the same respect and dignity at the end of their lives as people
without AOD problems.
They deserve care that is based on their needs, care that is delivered
without judgement, and care that offers them the best possible choices in
the final months, weeks and days of their lives. Our unique research project
at Manchester Metropolitan University explored whether or not this was the
case. It sought the views of a range of people including people with
experience of AOD use and end of life care needs, their families, friends and
carers, and the professionals and experts who supported them. It also
examined existing evidence to find out what we know and where the gaps
are in our knowledge. Our partners included two substance use agencies, ADS
(Oldham and Bury) and Aquarius (Midlands); three hospices (St John’s in
Lancaster, St Catherine’s in Preston and Trinity in Blackpool), and a Manchester-
based community enterprise partner, VoiceBox Inc.
The project was funded by the The National Lottery Community Fund.
CASE STUDY – PEOPLE WITH EXPERIENCE
RICHARD, AGED 67
Richard used heroin for many
years, but stopped eight years
ago. He describes never being
trusted by workers and being
asked to wait outside the
chemist’s when trying to pick
up his methadone prescrip -
tion, while they served other
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people before him. He has
been living with cancer for
three years and was recently
told that there are no further
treatment options. He and his
wife are now thinking about
his end of life care needs and
planning for a funeral with
little money. Having
CASE STUDY – FAMILY MEMBER
experienced poor healthcare
treatment in the past, which
he largely attributes to being a
drug user, Richard and his wife
want to remain as independ -
ent as possible, but recognise
that they may soon have to
accept help from the comm -
unity palliative care team.
DEBBIE, AGED 61
Debbie’s son had a longstanding
alcohol problem and she felt he
would die young. He was getting
alcohol treatment but eventually
died in hospital from alcohol-
related liver disease after a
period on life support. Debbie
described her son’s death as a
‘good death’– surrounded by
family and with compassionate
care for both him and the family.
However, there were no specific
con versa tions about end of life
care and Debbie felt that her
grief was complicated by her
son’s death being associated
with alcohol.
End of life care for people with problematic substance use and their families | DDN | 1