subject: The Aim of Palliative Care [print this page] The Aim of Palliative Care The Aim of Palliative Care
For any individual it is quite difficult to deal with the symptoms of a serious illness or a painful disease. There are special care units that have been designed to render special care to these individuals. This is known as palliative care. It is administered along with the proper treatment for the disease. Thus, the whole process is aimed at healing the patient and at the same time, providing them relief from the excruciating pain. This improves their overall quality of life.
Palliative care forms an integral part of the treatment administered for any serious or life-threatening ailment. It is no alternative for the regular treatment but is carried on alongside it. Palliative care is aimed at:
Offering relief from pain and other symptoms that are distressing for the patient
Providing support to the families of the patient to help them cope up with the trying times
Providing much necessary support to the patient to enjoy life as much as possible even when they are not in the best of their health
Integrating diverse spiritual and psychological aspects
Palliative care is offered by social care and health professionals and is categorised as:
Professional palliative care specialists comprising clinical nurse specialists and palliative medicine consultants
Professionals who offer regular care services to patients at their homes or at hospitals and nursing homes
People offering regular palliative care should be equipped to:
Meet all the requirements of the position and thus have the necessary skill, knowledge and competence
Determine the care that the patient and his/her family would need for meeting diverse psychological, spiritual, and social needs.
Palliative care originated as a way of providing some relief to terminally ill patients, especially people suffering from cancer. Over the years, it has evolved and now offers healing to people suffering from other diseases. Patients enter at a palliative stage at a much later stage of their illness. On an average, a patient in Ireland remains in palliative care for a period of 26 days.
This form of care has emerged as a new area of medicine and developed as late as the 1960s. Ireland is one of the few countries that have promoted this kind of a service actively. Palliative care is thus an established medical field in the country.
There are specialist palliative care services in the country as well. They employ the services of specialist multidisciplinary palliative care teams. These units offer:
Advice, assessment and care to the patient and their respective families at their homes and even at hospitals
Intensive home support for people with complicated needs as they prefer to stay at home
Training and education in palliative care
An extensive range of opportunities when it comes to day care facilities for review and assessment of the needs of the patient and arrangement of social, physical and psychological support.
When an individual is going through probably the most difficult phase of their own life, it is necessary that they are provided as much relief as possible.
