Is palliative care a utopia for older patients with organ failure, dementia or frailty? A qualitative study through the prism of emergency department admission

Nearly three out of four older people will use the emergency department (ED) during their last year of life. However, most of them do not benefit from palliative care. Providing palliative care is a real challenge for ED clinicians who are trained in acute, life-saving medicine. Our aim is to understand the ED's role in providing palliative care for this population.