Palliative Care

The Facts

• Life expectancy is increasing with more people living beyond 65 years of age
• As the population ages the pattern of diseases people suffer and die from is changing – often due to chronic conditions causing a wide range of physical, psychological and social problems (i.e. heart disease, lung cancer)
• Patients and their families often need particularly responsive kinds of help as they approach the end of life.
• Emerging needs of people living with chronic illnesses has meant palliative care has moved on from its traditional focus on cancer patients.
• Many studies have found that around 75% of respondents would prefer to die at home.

What is it?

Palliative care is the special care of a person whose disease cannot be cured. Palliative care provides comfort and support to the person and family. Palliative care does not hasten or delay death.

The World Health Organisation (2002) defines palliative care as:

• Provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms
• Affirms life and regards dying as a normal process
• Intends neither to hasten or postpone death
• Integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care
• Offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death
• Offers a support system to help the family cope during the patient´s illness and in their own bereavement
• Uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their families, including bereavement counseling, if indicated;
• Will enhance quality of life, and may also positively influence the course of an illness
• Is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other therapies that are intended to prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and includes those investigations needed to better understand and manage distressing clinical complications

Medico Home Care´s Objective

To avoid hospital admissions and provide care and support in more familiar and comfortable surroundings.

How can we help?

Our services to individuals requiring palliative care at home need to include:

• Assessing the person´s care needs
• Planning how to look after pain and other symptoms
• Emotional support

The services may include:

• Looking after the home
• Having someone come in to the home give the person providing care a break (Respite care)
• Washing, bathing (Personal Care)
• Equipment/supplies (Maintaining health)
• Seeing that all parts of the care plan work together for the person

The goals of palliative care are to;

• Ease pain and other symptoms (such as depression, etc)
• Help the person to have a clear mind
• Support the person, family and friends

– We are only a phone call away. Use our Branch Finder to find out your nearest Medico office.

Further Information:

www.doh.gov.uk
www.nice.org.uk