Barriers to the best care of the dying in Queensland, Australia.

The process of dying for many Australians is not ideal. To improve the care of the dying in our community, the barriers preventing optimal care must be identified. Forty-two important barriers were identified by focus groups. Health care professionals (HCPs) working in palliative care (PC) throughout Queensland were asked to rate the importance of each of the barriers. Inadequate funding for PC, lack of after-hours care, insufficient medical support and the lack of HCPs in PC across several different settings were highlighted as the most important barriers. Uncertainty regarding death certification, society's difficulty in responding to cultural needs, patient fears that active treatment would be stopped and fear of palliative care were considered the least important barriers. Many HCPs seem concerned about issues they are less likely to influence. The results of this survey may be useful for future workforce planning.