What is the recommendation of the committee for family members and carers during the consultation?
The committee recommended that the patient would be told who they would see at their next consultation (a member of the specialist heart failure multidisciplinary team) and explained what they can expect to happen. The committee also discussed the importance of having family members/carers involved in communication from an early stage as receiving bad news in the form of the diagnosis of heart failure can be overwhelming for the patient. Carers may also be better able to take on board information provided regarding ongoing care and management than the patient who has just been given a diagnosis. Additionally, family members and carers often struggle with how best to help when the patient has conveyed information poorly or partially to them. For this reason, the inclusion of a family member or carer in one or more consultations will improve the understanding of the condition and the potential support provided to the patient.