Clinicians working in palliative care have good levels of knowledge of the DoLS. Despite this concerns were raised, particularly by consultants; uncertainty as to when they should be used and the relevance of the Safeguards in clinical practice. Further guidance should be given to clinicians working in this specialty to ensure that clinical practice is both lawful and in the patients' best interests.
How patients were involved in the creation of this articleNo patients or their family carers were involved in the creation of this article.
Education into practice• Is clinical team's use of clinically assisted hydration at the end of life individualised? • If so, how do you make the decision to initiate or discontinue this treatment, and is this decision making process supported by national guidance?
How this article was createdThis article was written in response to NIHR awarding funding for the CHELsea II study. We searched the following databases for supporting information: Medline OVID, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. We searched the following registry for supporting information: World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (which includes ClinicalTrials.gov, EU Clinical Trials Register, and ISRCTN).
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