End of life planning and care Te whakamahere me manaaki i te hinganga
When you have an advanced disease that limits how much longer you will live, a lot can still be done to prevent suffering, relieve symptoms and improve quality of life. This is called palliative care.
Caring for someone at the end of their life
Palliative care involves caring for the whole person. It includes looking after all of your needs including:
- physical
- emotional
- psychological
- social
- cultural
- spiritual.
Sometimes palliative care is described as holistic care. It involves:
- explaining the illness, treatment and medication
- treating any pain to help improve your quality of life and relieve any suffering
- helping with personal care, such as showering and eating
- advising on self-care, such as eating well, being active and relaxation
- helping you to get support and to network with others
- helping with decision making
- helping with advance care planning so that you can make informed and active decisions about how you want to live and die.
Palliative care is provided wherever you are. This could be:
- in your home
- in hospital
- at a community clinic or hospice.
People may receive palliative care for years, months, weeks or days. Whatever the timeframe, palliative care aims to help you and those caring for you have the best quality of life possible.
How palliative care is provided
Palliative care is always tailored to your individual needs. Many people are well managed by their general practice team and district nurse and do not need specialist palliative care. You may need help with a specific issue for a short period of time or need support for longer periods.
You may have care from specialist palliative care services which may include:
- doctors
- nurses
- social workers
- physiotherapists
- occupational therapists
- dieticians.
They work alongside:
- general practice teams
- district nurses
- pharmacists
- other health professionals.