What is Pal-Cycles?
Pal-Cycles is an EU-funded project, led by Prof. Jeroen Hasselaar (Radboud University Medical Centre, the Netherlands), which aims to develop a palliative care transition programme between hospital and the community for patients with advanced cancer.
The project will facilitate patient-centred communication and continuity of care, reducing unplanned hospital admissions and improving quality of life at the end of life.
What are the specific needs that triggered this project?
Many patients with advanced cancer leave the hospital with uncertainty about how to proceed with their treatment and aftercare. Communication between healthcare professionals in different settings is often not optimal, resulting in poor continuity and coordination of care, negatively impacting quality of life and increasing avoidable hospital admissions.
Unfortunately, palliative care teams are not involved in hospital discharge when needed, which can hinder personalised and holistic care planning focused on the specific needs of individuals requiring palliative care.
That’s where the Pal-cycles programme comes in!
It’s a unique programme that brings together various stakeholders to ensure that people with advanced cancer receive palliative care in the community. This means less time in hospital and more time investing in quality care and life. With Pal-Cycles, we’re not just demonstrating how to integrate palliative care into the continuity of care – we’re leveraging good care planning in collaboration with hospital oncology.
“The Pal-Cycles research group wants all people with advanced cancer disease and their relatives, to be guaranteed continuity of care at home, in a functional and organised way, ensuring quality of care and the well-being of all”
