Palliative Care Services

Question 1

What is palliative care?

Answer 1

Active holistic care of a patient with a progressive terminal illness. This involves pain management and providing psychological, social and spiritual support.

Question 2

What is the goal of palliative care?

Answer 2

Achieve the best quality of life for patients and their families.

Question 3

What are generic palliative services?

Answer 3

Core aspect of care for all patients and families with advanced disease by all healthcare professionals which incudes a holistic needs assessment and referral to specialist palliative care. It provides day to day care in their homes or hospitals.

Question 4

What are the services in generalised palliative care?

Answer 4

Primary healthcare team e.g GP
Nursing team
Secondary care
Social services

Question 5

What is specialised palliative care?

Answer 5

Specialised care for patients with unresolved symptoms and complex psychosocial issues by specialists or those with palliative care accredited training. This includes:
Palliative care nurse specialists
Consultant palliative care physicians

Question 6

What are the types of specialised palliative care services?

Answer 6

Clinical nurse specialists
Specialist physicians in palliative care
Hospices
Marie Curie nurses

Question 7

What are the types of specialised palliative care services?

Answer 7

NHS provided by community nurses
Voluntary sector through Marie Curie and Macmillan

Question 8

What do specialist services provide?

Answer 8

Complementary therapies
Bereavement services
Education
‘Out of hours’ advice

Question 9

What are important considerations in palliative care?

Answer 9

Avoid over-treatment of patients and ensure that the patient as a person is not lost. The patient should be treated for their comfort and managing pain.

Question 10

Which charities provide palliative care services?

Answer 10

Marie Curie nurses, which provide overnight care and support, for those with terminal illnesses within their own homes.

MacMillan nurses, which provide care and support for those with cancer from when they are first diagnosed by providing information about cancer diagnosis, the type of treatment and managing side effects..

—> These are specialised palliative care nurses