Telephone communication with relatives of hospitalised COVID-19 patients by a specialised family support team: lessons learned

Abstract

During March and April 2020, the number of hospital admissions and deaths due to the first wave of COVID-19 peaked. The objective of this study was to analyse the experiences of a team of health professionals in charge of breaking bad news over the telephone to the relatives of patients admitted to the respiratory ward of a large hospital in Barcelona.
 This was a qualitative research based on semi-structured individual interviews with all the members of the team and a group interview. The interviews were analysed using Condensation of Meaning techniques.
 Three central themes emerged after analysing the interviews: (1) the call itself, (2) the need for good organisational support both before and during a crisis, and (3) the care that the professionals themselves need.
 To set up a large-scale operation to break bad news over the phone, some organisational aspects must be considered that go beyond the call itself. All these aspects are interrelated to a large extent, and due attention should be given to proper communication and adequate care practices for both relatives and health workers.

Teaching (remotely) to communicate (remotely) with relatives of patients during lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Given the above situation, the need to provide training in the communication of bad news became evident. In response to this, the present study was carried out in a tertiary hospital in the province of Barcelona, Spain, where during the first peak of hospitalizations and deaths a Family Support Team (FST) was formed to inform relatives of patients admitted for COVID by telephone, which operated during March and April 2020 [ 16 ]. Stemming from this collaboration between the doctors responsible for the treatment of patients admitted for COVID-19 and the FST, the Pneumology Department made a request to the FST members to share their experiences and lessons learnt with the professionals that still had to communicate with isolated patients or their families.…”