What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is treatment, care and support for people with a life-limiting illness, and their family and friends. It’s sometimes called ‘supportive care’.
The aim of palliative care is to help you to have a good quality of life – this includes being as well and active as possible in the time you have left.
What does Palliative Care involve?
It can involve:
- managing physical symptoms such as pain
- emotional, spiritual and psychological support
- social care, including help with things like washing, dressing or eating
- support for your family and friends.
A life-limiting illness is an illness that can’t be cured and that you’re likely to die from. You might hear this type of illness called ‘life-threatening’ or ‘terminal’. People might also use the terms ‘progressive’ (gets worse over time) or ‘advanced’ (is at a serious stage) to describe these illnesses.
Examples of life-limiting illnesses include advanced cancer, motor neuron disease (MND) and dementia.
When can you receive Palliative Care?
You can receive palliative care at any stage in your illness. Having palliative care doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re likely to die soon – some people receive palliative care for years.
You can also have palliative care alongside treatments, therapies and medicines aimed at controlling your illness, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. However, palliative care does include caring for people who are nearing the end of life – this is sometimes called end of life care.
Source mariecurie.org.uk
Palliative Care at Harwood House
Palliative Care includes treatments such as medicine, physical therapy, nutrition management, counselling, and coordination with our nurses and doctors, hospice, mental health providers, and more.
At Harwood House, our palliative care services are provided with the care, compassion and professionalism that both the resident and their family need during this illness.
Have a look at this testimonial from the daughter of a resident who experienced palliative care at Harwood House…
Testimonials
The palliative care my mother received…was exceptional. It was a great comfort to me that she was looked after with such care. All the staff, without exception, were compassionate and concerned and at the same time efficient, looking after her physical needs to keep her clean and comfortable. They all went the extra mile.
Daughter of Resident