Palliative care can be a difficult subject to broach for patients and family alike. While it’s something that’s difficult to talk about, doing so is important. Palliative care can make the end of life more comfortable for all involved. So, what is palliative care and what are the options for someone in need?

Palliative care is an approach to caring for people with any kind of life-limiting or ending illness. The World Health Organization defines palliative care as “…an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem 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.”

Palliative care aims to manage the symptoms, improve the quality of life and maintain a comfortable way of life for the patient and their family.

In most cases, palliative care is provided to a person with an active, progressive, advanced disease, who has little to no prospect of a cure and who is expected to pass away. Some of the most common medical conditions of people who receive palliative care are cancer, AIDS, end-stage dementia, multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease.

Palliative care is a period of care when services and support is increased to help ensure the quality of care and the quality of life is optimised. Palliative care encompasses many forms of support for patients, family and carers. Typically, this includes pain relief, relief from other symptoms, resources, equipment for home, help for families, connections to other support services including home help and financial supports. Palliative care can also include spiritual, cultural and traditional support, as well as support for emotional and social concerns. Furthermore, most high-quality palliative care services will provide counselling and grief support.

Where possible, palliative care aims to be provided where the person and their family want. Often, people will prefer to spend their final weeks in the comfort of their own home. This will typically depend on the nature of the illness and how much care is required. Palliative care takes into account the amount of support the person can receive from their family and surrounding community as well as if someone is at home who can provide care and support.

Unfortunately, there are cases where palliative care can not be provided in a home setting. Other places where palliative care can be provided includes hospital, a hospice or in a specialised residential aged care facility such as Kew Gardens.

When it comes to who can provide palliative care, generally it is supplied by a specialist palliative care teams, however, doctors, nurses and carers can use a palliative approach to the care.

Death and the care surrounding death is a difficult topic to discuss. However, with its inevitability, it’s important we prepare and talk about death. Discussing death will not only ensure that our wishes are understood, but it will also make it easier on the friends and family we leave behind.

Part of palliative care is assisting people and their families discuss the process and the decisions during this difficult time.

If you are living with a life limiting illness or disability, it’s crucial to talk to those who are closest to you about your wishes regarding your care and support. Consider things like where you want to receive care, the goals of your care formed with your doctor, who you want with you and who you want to make decisions for you should you be unable to speak for yourself. Completing an advance care plan is helpful when it comes to considering such things.

There’re also several support initiatives in Australia, such as the Palliative Care Australia initiative, Dying to Talk. This initiative encourages Australians of all ages and health levels to talk about dying. While it affects and happens to us all, death struggles to receive the visibility and discussions it requires to be a manageable process.

Dying is a tough subject to talk about, however thanks to services like palliative care, we can receive quality care to improve our quality of life right up until we pass away. Palliative care looks to support people and their families who are nearing the end of their lives. Remember, it’s important to discuss death so everyone knows your wishes and you receive the care you desire.