SWOT analysis is one technique that managers can use to assess the internal and external factors impacting their business. The goal of palliative care is to help patients with terminal conditions, revive their pain, and ensure that the quality of their lives does not diminish due to their illness. Palliative care is an important field of the healthcare industry that allows terminally ill patients and their families to feel cared for, which is why the services at this unit should be of the highest quality. This paper will present a SWOT analysis of palliative care at ICU in a table format and detail these environmental factors.
Table 1 presents a summary of all SWOT factors for palliative care in the ICU. Firstly, the strengths of this unit are the patient-centered practices of care, which allow developing a strong customer base. Mainly, people who require palliative care need special attention, and the medical personnel has to provide services considering the wishes and preferences of the patients. Moreover, this palliative care unit is a part of the hospital’s ICU, which means that patients who require intensive care can be easily transferred to the ICU unit with minimal effort. Moreover, the facilities are in the same building, which also makes transportation and provision of intensive care services easier.
On the other hand, the combination of ICU and palliative care services has some disadvantages. For example, the scope of services that this facility can provide is smaller than that of the facilities where palliative care is the main focus. Additionally, there may be a lack of personnel, especially nurses, to attend to the needs of the patients as these specialists may be more focused on providing the services for the individuals under intensive care. The high turnover rates and the lack of qualified staff is a general problems affecting the healthcare system in the United States, and the COVID-19 has worsened the situation. This is especially true for nurses whose turnover rates are high, and this can cause disruptions in the operations of this unit.
The threat of the palliative care unit in ICU is growing competition. Palliative care is a healthcare field that has been growing, and over the last several years, several facilities that focus predominantly on palliative care were opened (Mojgan Ansari, 2018). Hence, patients in need of palliative care services are may prefer a facility fully dedicated to this type of healthcare service provision, as opposed to a facility where palliative care is a part of the ICU unit. Moreover, patients are expecting a higher quality of services and more attention from healthcare professionals, which considering the weaknesses discussed above is an issue.
Despite several threats that may cause a disruption to the operations of the palliative care unit, there are some opportunities that can guarantee the growth and development of this unit. Firstly, the population is aging, which means that in the future, more people will require palliative care. This means that this palliative unit can expand and prepare to provide services for a larger number of patients, which will also result in the growth of revenue. Additionally, the unit can provide palliative care services linked to other care practices, for example, recreational therapy. This will allow the patients to receive better care; for example, they will participate in activities targeting their physical and mental health. For the palliative care unit, the provision of additional services will allow to hire more specialists and attract patients that want more than regular daily care and medical checkups. Additionally, recreational therapy is in line with patient-centered care and self-care practices, which began the focus of the healthcare system in recent years. Hence, the palliative care unit in the ICU has a plethora of opportunities for growth and development, and considering the strengths of this healthcare facility, and it has the potential to facilitate these changes.
Table 1. SWOT analysis for a palliative care facility (created by the author).
The proposed policy aligns with the organization’s mission and vision because the organization aims to provide its patients with the best quality palliative care. Moreover, the mission is to alleviate the suffering of the patients that require palliative care, which is also another aspect that aligns with the opportunities outlined in SWOT since the organization can integrate more services, such as recreational therapy to aid patients. The budget required to facilitate the proposed changes is estimated at $50,000. The resources will be allocated to ensure the expansion of the palliative care unit and the development of new resources for patients.
Reference
Mojgan Ansari, P. (2018). Educational needs on palliative care for cancer patients in Iran: A SWOT analysis. International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery, 6(2), 111.