Background: Hospitalisation during the last weeks of life when there is no medical need or desire to be there is distressing and expensive. This study sought palliative care initiatives which may avoid or shorten hospital stay at the end of life and analysed their success in terms reducing bed days. Methods: Part 1 included a search of literature in PubMed and Google Scholar between 2013 and 2018, an examination of governmental and organisational publications plus discussions with external and co-author experts regarding other sources. This initial sweep sought to identify and categorise relevant palliative care initiatives. In Part 2, we looked for publications providing data on hospital admissions and bed days for each category. Results: A total of 1252 abstracts were reviewed, resulting in ten broad classes being identified. Further screening revealed 50 relevant publications describing a range of multi-component initiatives. Studies were generally small and retrospective. Most researchers claim their service delivered benefits. In descending frequency, benefits identified were support in the community, integrated care, out-of-hours telephone advice, care home education and telemedicine. Nurses and hospices were central to many initiatives. Barriers and factors underpinning success were rarely addressed. Conclusions: A wide range of initiatives have been introduced to improve end-of-life experiences. Formal evidence supporting their effectiveness in reducing inappropriate/non-beneficial hospital bed days was generally limited or absent.

The European Commission's Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) has funded many projects focusing on neurodegenerative disorders (ND) that aimed to improve the diagnosis, prevention, treatment and understanding of NDs. To facilitate collaboration across this project portfolio, the IMI funded the “NEURONET” project between March 2019 and August 2022 with the aim of connecting these projects and promoting synergies, enhancing the visibility of their findings, understanding the impact of the IMI funding and identifying research gaps that warrant more/new funding. The IMI ND portfolio currently includes 20 projects consisting of 270 partner organizations across 25 countries. The NEURONET project conducted an impact analysis to assess the scientific and socio-economic impact of the IMI ND portfolio. This was to better understand the perceived areas of impact from those directly involved in the projects. The impact analysis was conducted in two stages: an initial stage developed the scope of the project, defined the impact indicators and measures to be used. A second stage designed and administered the survey amongst partners from European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) organizations and other partners (hereafter, referred to as “non-EFPIA” organizations). Responses were analyzed according to areas of impact: organizational, economic, capacity building, collaborations and networking, individual, scientific, policy, patient, societal and public health impact. Involvement in the IMI ND projects led to organizational impact, and increased networking, collaboration and partnerships. The key perceived disadvantage to project participation was the administrative burden. These results were true for both EFPIA and non-EFPIA respondents. The impact for individual, policy, patients and public health was less clear with people reporting both high and low impact. Overall, there was broad alignment between EFPIA and non-EFPIA participants' responses apart from for awareness of project assets, as part of scientific impact, which appeared to be slightly higher among non-EFPIA respondents. These results identified clear areas of impact and those that require improvement. Areas to focus on include promoting asset awareness, establishing the impact of the IMI ND projects on research and development, ensuring meaningful patient involvement in these public-private partnership projects and reducing the administrative burden associated with participation in them.

The outcome of patients transported by coastguard helicopter to the Lewis Hospital, Stornoway was studied for the first 30 months of the service. Although undoubtedly life-saving in some cases, some patients were transferred for trivial reasons. Feedback between the hospital and ships' captains and owners may reduce possible abuse of this service. Most patients were uplifted entirely appropriately.

Conclusion This survey demonstrates hospices to be interested and active in facilitating social support. It is possible that increasingly diverse approaches used in practice may improve issues regarding access to and awareness of hospice care. More work is needed to share best practice, document outcomes, and consider cost-effectiveness.

Objectives Hospitalisation during the last weeks of life when there is no medical need or desire to be there is distressing and expensive. This study sought palliative care initiatives which may avoid or shorten hospital stay at the end of life and analysed their success in terms reducing bed days. Methods Part 1 included a search of literature in PubMed and Google Scholar between 2013 and 2018, an examination of governmental and organisational publications plus discussions with external and co-author experts regarding other sources. This initial sweep sought to identify and categorise relevant palliative care initiatives. In Part 2, we looked for publications providing data on hospital admissions and bed days for each category. Results A total of 1252 abstracts were reviewed, resulting in ten broad classes being identified. Further screening revealed 50 relevant publications describing a range of multi-component initiatives. Studies were generally small and retrospective. Most researchers claim their service delivered benefits. In descending frequency, benefits identified were support in the community, integrated care, out-of-hours telephone advice, care home education and telemedicine. Nurses and hospices were central to many initiatives. Barriers and factors underpinning success were rarely addressed. Conclusions A wide range of initiatives have been introduced to improve end-of-life experiences. Formal evidence supporting their effectiveness in reducing inappropriate/non-beneficial hospital bed days was generally limited or absent.