Telephone consultation in palliative care for cancer patients: 5 years of experience in The Netherlands

To analyze cancer patient-related consultations of a telephone helpdesk (TH) for palliative care over a period of 5 years in the region of Utrecht, The Netherlands.

A descriptive analysis was performed of consultations over a period of 5 years (2001–2006). The discipline and location of requesting professionals, patient characteristics, reasons for calling, symptoms, palliative care problems and needs for support were registered.

A total of 1,794 consultations were analyzed. There was an increasing number of consultations during the study period. Of the patients, 51% were male and their median age was 65 years (range 0–104). Eighty-four percent were treated at home by their general practitioner. Two thirds of the patients had a life expectancy <4 weeks. Most questions referred to pain (49%), delirium (20%), nausea and vomiting (16%) and dyspnea (12%). The median number of symptoms was 1 (0–6). Of the questions, 54% were related to pharmacological problems, 19% to psychological problems and 21% to the organization of care. Of the requesting professionals, 17% asked for support for themselves. Of the consultations, 14% were related to end-of-life issues: palliative sedation (11%) and euthanasia (3%).

After more than 5 years, the 24-h telephone consultation service fulfills a need for general practitioners dealing with daily dilemmas in palliative care treatment for cancer patients at home during the last period of their life.