In Patient care

What is palliative care?

Palliative care is the type of care offered at Pilgrims Hospices but you may be unfamiliar with what it means.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence defines palliative care as follows:

Palliative care is the active holistic care of patients with advanced progressive illness. Management of pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social and spiritual support is paramount. The goal of palliative care is achievement of the best quality of life for patients and their families. Many aspects of palliative care are also applicable earlier in the course of the illness in conjunction with other treatments.

Palliative care aims to:

provide relief from pain and other distressing symptoms
integrate the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care
affirm life and regard dying as a normal process
offer a support system to help patients live as actively as possible
offer a support system to help the family cope during the patient’s illness and in their own bereavement

Next steps

Email this page to a friend | Print this page