{
  "abstract": "Background The Association for Palliative Medicine (APM) ran a national Specialist Palliative Care (SPC) service evaluation from 2013, using the Family Satisfaction with End-of-Life Care (FAMCARE-2) questionnaire to measure the satisfaction of bereaved main caregivers with SPC services.Aim This feature article reviews ten years of the FAMCARE-2 audit (2013–2022), summarising data from bereaved carers via SPC teams alongside a one-off survey involving the service leads.Results During the decade, 573 SPC teams across the UK returned 12 573 completed FAMCARE-2 questionnaires, representing 160 SPC services, with a mean of 1048 questionnaires per annum (804–1668). Responses spanned three settings: hospice (48%), home (39%) and hospital (13%).Bereaved caregivers reported highest satisfaction for patients’ dignity; 92.2% of respondents were satisfied, while dissatisfaction was highest with the speed deceased patients’ symptoms were treated (6.2%). There was no significant difference in satisfaction rate between different SPC teams (home, hospital, hospice) with limited year-to-year variation in responses (Kruskal-Wallis test η2: −0.17).Participation by community-based home care teams increased during the 10-year period, but reduced for hospital specialist teams. The number of questionnaires returned decreased by 40%.Notably, of those responding to the one-off survey, 90% of services found FAMCARE-2 valuable for learning, inspection or reflective practice.Conclusion Bereaved caregivers consistently expressed satisfaction with SPC services across settings over the 10-year period. Despite limited applicability of findings due to annual decline in participation and lack of demographic data, FAMCARE-2 remains the only nationally used tool for evaluating SPC in the UK.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Palliative Medicine, Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK",
        "FAMCARE lead, Clinical Quality Committee, Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland, Fareham, England, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Despoina-Elvira Karakitsiou"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The Margaret Centre and Waltham Forest Community, Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust, London, England, UK",
        "Member, Clinical Quality Committee, Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland, Fareham, England, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Ebun Abarshi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Member, Clinical Quality Committee, Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland, Fareham, England, UK",
        "Palliative Medicine, NHS Health Education England North East, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Anna Grundy"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Clinical Oncology, West Midlands Deanery, Edgbaston, England, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Vijaya Kane"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Palliative Medicine, Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK",
        "President, Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland, Fareham, England, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Sarah Cox"
    }
  ],
  "title": "End-of-life care by specialist palliative care teams: 10-year retrospective satisfaction evaluation",
  "uid": "588fb392-e72b-5fcc-9e9a-d70f7f3b5b90"
}