Referral patterns of patients with nonmalignant disease to a hospital palliative care team (HPCT); a retrospective quantitative study and a comparative qualitative study

Abstract

To study the development of Little Bridge House, the new children's hospice in the South West, its pattern of use from the time of opening and its impact upon families. Design: A mainly qualitative study using semistructured interviews with parents after their introduction to the new hospice and again after they had stayed there at least once. Data as to the overall pattern of use were also collected on a regular basis, such as occupancy levels, ages and diagnoses of children referred, referral source and county of residence.