Palliative care is specialised health care of dying people which aims to maximise quality of life and assist families and carers during progressive illness and continues after death.
Palliative care, also called comfort care, focusses not on death, but on compassionate specialized care for the living. Complete palliative care programs also address mental health and spiritual needs. The focus is to make the person feel in control of their treatment and their quality of life. Palliative care involves family and friends, who also need to be prepared for the death of someone they love. When people enter a hospice or begin palliative care, their loved ones may begin to experience increased feelings of grief and bereavement. These feelings may intensify as people put final affairs in order, which may include funeral and memorial planning. Other issues that need to be considered are power of attorney arrangements, and the right to die, including voluntary euthanasia.
Palliative care may be take place in a hospice, at home or in hospital. Services available to the person and their family include:
Nursing
Consultancy to the person's doctor
Day care
Diet advice
Loan of equipment
Physiotherapy
Occupational therapy
Counselling
Social worker services
Spiritual support
Pastoral care
Bereavement support - Palliative care workers also offer help and support during the grieving process.
Because medical needs vary depending on the disease that is leading toward death, specialized palliative care programs exist for common conditions such as cancer and AIDS. Specialized caregiving is also needed if changes in the brain lead to coma or dementia.
Palliative Care has been recognised as a medical specialty since 1987, however it is only recently that the palliative care needs of children and their families been considered. Palliative care for children is closely related toadult palliative care. Palliative care for children is the active total care of the child's body, mind and spirit, and also involves giving support to the family. It begins when illness is diagnosed, and continues regardless of whether or not a child receives treatment directed at the disease.
There also exists various support services, training and education programs, respite services and resource centres provided for carers.
Do bear in mind that palliative care can make the difference between a gentle and dignified death or one where suffering can be terrible and prolonged.
Gay Redmile is the webmaster of several sites based around this sensitive issue. For latest information and resources regarding Palliative Care visit her site at: http://www.palliativecaresite.com or visit one of her other wellbeing sites at: http://www.hospicesite.com or http://www.powerofattorneyhome.com