Palliative and End of Life Care

Palliative care is an approach to treatment which aims to:

  • Improve the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem of life-threatening illness
  • Prevent and relieve suffering
  • Identify, assess and treat pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual
  • Affirm life and regard dying as a normal process
  • Offer a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death

It is appropriate early in the course of illness, in combination 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.

*This description is taken from the Palliative Care Zone on NHS Inform

The links below will take you to sources of more information on palliative and end of life care:

For more information about a particular condition, or if you are seeking specific support or guidance, you may wish to contact one of the organisations below:

The Palliative and End of Life Care Plan is now available.