As we get older and reach the last years and months of our life, the hope is that we will receive the kind of specialist treatment and care that improves the quality of our life and that of our family.
This is the aim of palliative care. It offers sensitive, compassionate and practical support to help us manage any symptoms, whilst making us as comfortable as possible when we are living with a life-limiting illness.
What is palliative care?
Palliative care is personalised help, support and treatment offered to people with a life-limiting illness that cannot be cured. It is designed to provide a better experience for the individual, tailored around what really matters to them, and may also involve psychological, social and spiritual support.
It is hoped that in the last years and months of life, this kind of care will give them an improved quality of life and perhaps also help their families through this difficult time.
Is palliative care the same as end-of-life care?
Palliative care is not the same as end-of-life care, though if the individual’s illness is progressive, then their palliative care can include end of life care. As treatment and care for people in the last years and months of life, end of life care provides a way of managing symptoms, together with practical advice and assistance with planning for the future, wills and such matters.
When should someone be offered palliative care?
Palliative care will normally be available to you when it is determined that you have a life-limiting illness, though palliative care is not only for people at end of life; it can be offered at any time after a diagnosis of your condition.
You may be referred to a provider of palliative care by your GP or other healthcare professionals in hospital or a care home. The right palliative care professionals should be involved as early as possible. They can assess your needs and wishes, and refer you to further specialist care if you need it.
How long does palliative care last?
Palliative care can be offered at any point after a terminal diagnosis, and following your terminal diagnosis you can have palliative care at any stage in your illness, which means that some people have palliative care for years.
If your treatment means that you also need other therapies or medicines to control your illness, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, you can receive palliative care alongside those.
Your palliative care can be delivered in your own home, a hospital, care home, nursing home or a hospice.
Palliative care at Fairmile Grange
If you, or a loved one, has an illness that cannot be cured, we work closely with you to create a personalised, holistic palliative care plan that goes beyond physical support to include the provision of psychological, social and spiritual comfort.
In addition, we have care teams who are specially trained to provide end of life care to ensure that our residents receive the utmost respect and dignity, and to deliver the highest standard of care for those in the final months of their lives.
