Communication and Prognostic Uncertainty

The study concludes that patients and carers need earlier, clearer, and more compassionate information before crisis admission. Patients often entered the MUUTO pathway with major uncertainty about prognosis. Multiple clinical teams and inconsistent messages contributed to patient confusion. Diagnostic investigations often showed cancer progression or metastases, but patients did not always understand what this meant for life expectancy. Clinicians recognised that emergency situations left little time to establish what patients knew and discuss prognosis sensitively before urgent decisions.