Palliative and end of life care is the active, holistic care of patients with advanced progressive illness. This is an integral part of the care delivered by all health and social care professionals, and indeed by families and carers, to those living with, and dying from any advanced, progressive and incurable conditions. Palliative and end of life care focuses on the person rather than the disease and aims to ensure quality of life for those living with an advanced non-curative condition.

A palliative care approach includes:

• managing physical symptoms
• providing emotional, spiritual and psychological support
• social care, including support for personal care and everyday tasks
• support for those important to the person

Palliative care is for any person living with a life-threatening illness that causes them to suffer pain and where they have physical, psychological and spiritual needs, they are likely to benefit from being able to receive care and support from people who are skilled in providing palliative care.  Many people think of cancer when they hear the term palliative care and it is true that palliative care teams often do provide support to a lot of people who are living with cancer, but there are other conditions that people can have where they could benefit from receiving palliative care.  These include people in the later stages of health problems such as long-term conditions like heart failure, lung disease, dementia and serious brain conditions such as motor neuron disease.

• A baby born with such serious difficulties that they are unlikely to survive
• A child or young person with a condition that will shorten or severely limit their lives

Palliative Care services can be delivered either by generalist staff or by staff who specialise in palliative care.

General palliative care is delivered by multi-disciplinary teams in primary and community care settings, hospital units and wards.

A general palliative care approach is required by most people and is provided by medical staff including GPs, Nurses, Pharmacists, Chaplains, Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) and Social Workers.

Professionals within these fields recognise when specialist palliative care is needed. Specialist palliative care is the management of unresolved physical, emotional, social or spiritual symptoms. It is delivered by specialist multi-disciplinary teams dedicated to palliative care.

Palliative care:

• provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms;
• affirms life and regards dying as a normal process;
• intends neither to hasten or postpone death;
• integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care;
• offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death;
• offers a support system to help the family cope during the patients illness and in their own bereavement;
• uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their families, including bereavement counselling, if indicated;
• will enhance quality of life, and may also positively influence the course of illness;
• is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other therapies that are intended to prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and includes those investigations needed to better understand and manage distressing clinical complications.

When you need help or support, it’s important to know where to turn to and be aware of the services available to you. Whether you need someone to talk to, help with basic necessities, benefits, understanding billing, or getting access to a service.

There are a variety of palliative and end of life care services in Northern Ireland which support people facing the end of their lives, their carer’s, relatives and health care professionals. These services are there to help people attain the necessary practical, physical and emotional support they need to provide the best quality of life for as long as possible.

Palliative care services can be accessed via your GP or health care professional making a referral to your local palliative care service provider.  The person making the referral will normally be a health care professional who has knowledge of the patient, their illness, its symptoms, current treatment and prognosis. If the referral is made by a health care professional who isn’t the patient’s GP, it is helpful to inform the relevant GP that a referral has been made. It’s important to be mindful that you may have access to different support services and benefits depending on your situation.

In Northern Ireland Palliative Care is provided across all care settings including your own home, by your GP, Health and Social Care Trusts (Belfast, Northern, Southern, Southern, South Eastern, Western and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service), Northern Ireland Hospice, Evora Hospice, Foyle Hospice and Marie Curie.

Palliative Care is also provided by a range of voluntary and community organisations such as Macmillan.

For adult services across Northern Ireland go to the Palliative Care in Partnership website at: Palliative Care Services In Northern Ireland - Palliative Care in Partnership

Children’s services is provided across all the Health and Social Care Trusts including the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice in North Belfast.