Palliative care : fourth report of session 2003-04 / Health Committee.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Health Committee.
Date:
2004
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Palliative care : fourth report of session 2003-04 / Health Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual. 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 patient’s 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.‘ 9. Within palliative care it is important to distinguish between general and specialist care. General palliative care is provided by the usual professional carers of the patient and family, such as GPs, district nurses, hospital doctors, ward nurses, allied health professionals and staff in care homes.° Most palliative care is provided by non-specialist staff such as these. 10. Specialist palliative care is provided by multi-disciplinary teams that might include consultants in palliative medicine, nurse specialists, specialist social workers and experts in psychological care. Such staff are specifically trained to advise on symptom control and pain relief and “to give emotional, psychosocial and spiritual support to patients, their families, friends and carers, both during the patient’s illness and into bereavement”.® 11. In addition, supportive care constitutes an important part of patient care. This is defined by the National Council for Hospice and Specialist Palliative Care Services as: That which helps the patient and their family to cope with cancer [and other diseases] and treatment of it—from pre-diagnosis, through the process of diagnosis and treatment, to cure, continuing illness or death and into bereavement. It helps the patient to maximise the benefits of treatment and to live as well as possible with the effects of the disease. It is given equal priority alongside diagnosis and treatment.’ 12. In its recent guidance on Supportive and Palliative Care,® the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) suggests that supportive care is not a distinct speciality but the responsibility of all health and social care professionals delivering care. It ranges from self-help to user involvement, spiritual and social support. on mmo UN SS See www.who.int Ev 8 (Department of Health) Ev 8 (Department of Health) Ev 273 Supportive and Palliative Care for Adults with Cancer, March 2004