Bereaved carers' views of a hospice at home service

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, there has been an increase in specialist palliative care services in the home. Despite this, there have been relatively few published evaluations of such care. METHODS: This is a qualitative study which used semistructured interviews to explore bereaved carers' views and experiences of a hospice at home (HAH) service in the East Midlands, UK. Eleven interviews were conducted and analysis followed the framework approach. RESULTS: Carers' views were divided into four themes: caring for someone at home; formal care provided by HAH; access to out-of-hours care; and provision of specialist equipment. CONCLUSIONS: Bereaved carers generally gave very positive accounts on care delivered by the HAH service. Shortcomings identified were the provision of out-of-hours care and the untimely supply and removal of specialist equipment. It is suggested that bereaved carers provide useful insights for qualitative evaluations of end-of-life services delivered in the home.