Palliative care, sharing the final farewell

When people are incurably ill, palliative care is applied to make them as comfortable as possible during the remainder of their lives. Pain relief and psychological support are of great importance in this stage.

What exactly is palliative care?

Palliative care is specialised care for people who are terminally ill. It focuses on controlling pain in the final stage of life and pays attention to social, psychological and spiritual needs. Palliative care is aimed at helping those nearest to the patient to experience dying as intensely as possible and at sharing the final farewell based on the principle that everyone deserves the opportunity to live towards the end in their own way. Palliative care often uses volunteers.

Pain Relief

Palliative care starts after medical treatment is stopped. In this stage only medication to relieve pain is administered, trying to make the patient feel as comfortable as possible.

Next of kin

Palliative care is not only aimed at the patient, but also at the next of kin. During this difficult period, care workers work together closely to give maximum support to the patient and his relatives. Each care worker has his or her specific task in the process.

WHO Definition

In 2002, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined palliative care as follows: "An approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual."

At home

The palliative care workers’ objective is to enable the patient to stay at home for as long as possible, or to stay with relatives or in a care facility. If this is no longer possible, the patient is hospitalised.
Home care services provide care to patients in their own familiar surroundings. The patient not only receives care, but also psychological support. Also, those close to the patient are supported. Anyone can ask the care team or the palliateve network for temporary support. This brings relief of care to those providing the patient with informal care. For this temporary palliative care, day centres have been set up.

In the hospital

At the request of doctors or nurses, more and more hospitals in Flanders introduce palliative care teams. Patients or next of kin may even ask for this kind of help in hospital. Palliative care in hospitals is free. There are also organisations which run specialised palliative units. For several years now, palliative care has received government support.
It is important to empathise with the patient when he degenerates, because, in that stage, compassion is not enough to help the patient. In these last days or weeks the aim is to make life a comfortable as possible for the patient. A better pillow for comfort, brushing his teeth or an extra blanket may help make things more bearable for the patient.
The aid offered should be presented as helpful. To the patient, little things may make quite a difference during this period. The mere presence of loved ones also helps the patient to a significant degree. He should be able to say his farewells to everyone in his own way.

Sources: www.todio.nl