Hospice Palliative Care
Topic Overview
What is hospice palliative care?
It is hard to live with an illness that cannot be cured. You may feel lonely, angry, scared, or sad. You may feel that your treatment is doing more harm than good. You may have pain or other disturbing symptoms. Hospice palliative care can help you and your loved ones cope with all of these things.
Hospice palliative care is a kind of care for people who have illnesses that do not go away and often get worse over time and for people who are in the last stages of a terminal illness, such as cancer or heart failure. It is different from care to cure your illness, called curative treatment. Hospice palliative care focuses on improving your quality of life—not just in your body, but also in your mind and spirit. Sometimes hospice palliative care is combined with curative treatment.
The kind of care you get depends on what you need. Your goals guide your care. Hospice palliative care can help reduce pain or treatment side effects. Hospice palliative care may help you and your loved ones better understand your illness, talk more openly about your feelings, or decide what treatment you want or do not want. It can also make sure your doctors, nurses, and loved ones understand your goals and are "on the same page."
Why would I choose hospice palliative care?
Once you agree to a referral to a hospice palliative care program, your treatment goals may change from treating or curing the disease to keeping you as comfortable as possible while your illness progresses. This philosophy is a shift from usual medical treatments, in which health professionals strive to cure your disease. Hospice palliative services are not intended to speed up or prolong the dying process, but focus instead on relieving pain and other symptoms. Your hospice palliative caregivers are concerned with enhancing the quality of life by keeping you as alert and comfortable as possible in a familiar environment with family and friends.
Hospice palliative care providers are interested in what is bothering you and what is important to you. They want to know how you and your loved ones are doing day-to-day. They understand that your illness affects not just you but also those you love.
Your hospice palliative care providers will ask questions about how your illness affects your emotions and spirit. Then they will try to make sure that your medical care meets your goals for your body, mind, and spirit. They will also help you make future plans around your health and medical care.
You might see a hospice palliative care provider just once or maybe more often. He or she will work with your other doctors to give you the best care possible.
Once you have been referred to a hospice palliative program, services may be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in your own home or in a hospice centre, nursing home, long-term care facility, or hospital.
What kind of services are provided?
Hospice palliative services generally include:
- Basic medical care with a focus on pain and symptom control.
- Medical supplies and equipment as needed.
- Counselling and social support to help you and your family with psychological, emotional, and spiritual issues.
- Guidance with the difficult, but normal, issues of life completion and closure.
- A break (respite care) for caregivers, family, and others who regularly care for you.
- Volunteer support such as meal preparation or errand running.
- Counselling and support for your loved ones, including after you die.
Who is involved in hospice palliative care?
A team of health professionals will be involved with your care. These teams often include doctors, nurses, and social workers. The teams may also include spiritual advisors, dietitians, occupational therapists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, respiratory therapists, and volunteers.
Hospice palliative care also actively involves you and your loved ones. Together you will work with health care providers in your doctor's office or your home, or in a hospital, nursing home, or hospice centre. Not all hospitals have palliative care teams. But many are working to start them. Many urban areas have programs that work together to give care, services, and support everywhere in a region.
How can I get hospice palliative services?
If you are chronically or terminally ill, your health professional may talk to you about whether you wish to be referred to a hospice palliative care program.
Hospice palliative care programs do not discriminate. Care is provided regardless of age, sex, religion, diagnosis or type of health problem, ethnic or cultural background, sexual orientation, or ability to pay.
Coverage for hospice palliative services varies by province and territory. For this reason, it is important to research what services your provincial health plan or private insurance offers and determine exactly which services are included. Many hospice palliative care programs will research your medical coverage for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
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| Author: | Colleen Cronin Carrie Henley | Last Updated: July 31, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Ira Byock, MD - Palliative Care Robin L. Fainsinger, MBChB, LMCC, CCFP - Palliative Care | |
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