Palliative Care is person and family-centred care provided for someone with and active, progressive, advanced disease who has little or no prospect of a cure from which they will not recover. A life-limiting illness is managed, and symptoms treated for sometimes long periods of time allowing people to enjoy quality of life with support for as long as possible.
According to The Palliative Care Australia website Palliative Care Australia, health care professionals involved in care of a person with a life-limiting illness include many practitioners with important roles such as doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, counsellors, social workers, occupational therapists and dietitians. Palliative Care adopts a team-based, multi-disciplinary approach to providing end-of-life care to a person and their primary carers.
Palliative care works to ensure people’s physical, emotional, spiritual and practical needs are met and supports quality of life enabling those with a life-limiting illness to live comfortably for as long as possible. Members of the palliative team identify and treat physical symptoms the person may be experiencing such as pain, shortness of breath, nausea and arrange for appropriate medication prescribing and administration. Other team members arrange equipment and aids to help manage at home and emotional support is available in the form of counselling and social work. Palliative care is family centred and holistic which means it supports the person and their family in their home, hospital, hospice or aged care facility.
Palliative care will advocate for people who wish to die at home and facilitate symptom management so this is possible. If the person has support and the nature and management of their illness allows, the community palliative team will visit regularly to monitor and ensure the person is well cared for. For some families, caring for a dying loved one at home may prove too difficult and transfer to hospital or similar facility can be arranged when the person approaches end of life.
People can be referred to Palliative Care when they first are diagnosed for long term support. The Palliative Care team work with the GP to arrange for medications and treatments. Early access to palliative care often means symptoms are controlled quickly and therapeutic relationships are built which sometimes help to prolong life.
Palliative care is accessed by a referral from your GP or health care provider and is usually offered in the community and is well-staffed with a wide range of experienced and knowledgeable health professionals. Palliative Care is usually offered free of costs although people may still be charged for procedures, tests and medications. There are often misconceptions about Palliative Care only being needed during the terminal stage although early access is most effective in reducing hospitalisation, managing symptoms and improving quality of life.
