Palliative care

Palliative care is care that is designed to help manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life. Palliative care includes end-of-life care, but your doctor may also recommend it to relieve symptoms earlier in your illness. Palliative care can include: 

• Treatments such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy to improve symptoms. For example, fatigue, breathlessness or nausea
• Help with keeping active and managing day-to-day life
• Physiotherapy
• Counselling
• Family support
• Spiritual support
• Complementary therapies, such as acupuncture or aromatherapy
• Advice about practical matters like financial entitlements
• End-of-life care

Palliative care is for anyone with a life-limiting condition. This means a condition, illness or disease which is progressive and cannot be cured. Cancer patients often have palliative care, but it can also be given to people with other illnesses, for example dementia or lung disease.

• Some people think that palliative care is only given when you have finished all other treatment. But the palliative care team are experts in managing pain and controlling symptoms, so you may be given palliative care at any stage to manage symptoms and complications from your illness.
• Having the palliative care team involved early may mean symptoms will be better controlled and potential problems kept in check. It also means you will have emotional support earlier on in your illness.
• In later stages, palliative care can also help people to prepare for death. This is called end-of-life care.

Depending on what kind of palliative care you are having, you may be given palliative care:

• In hospital, by the specialist palliative care team
• At home, by specialist palliative nurses who work with your family doctor, the specialist palliative care team, the public health nurse and your family
• In a community hospital or nursing home, by specialist palliative nurses who work with your family doctor and/or a specialist palliative care team
• In a hospice

Palliative care can be arranged by your family doctor (GP) or by the hospital.

Ask your doctor and nurse about palliative care. If you don't feel well enough, your family can do so.

Palliative care is free for all patients. You don't need a medical card.

The palliative care team will include doctors and nurses, including specialists in palliative medicine. Other people on the team can include a medical social worker, a physiotherapist, occupational therapist and those who provide complementary therapies and pastoral care. Key people may include:

End-of-life care is an important part of palliative care treatment. It involves the care of patients during the last few days, weeks or months of life to ensure their comfort and dignity. You can talk to our cancer nurses about end-of-life care and our Night Nursing service.  Call our Support Line on 1800 200 700 or visit a Daffodil Centre.

The Irish Hospice Foundation’s Think Ahead programme helps people to think about and plan for the end of their lives. It supports people to talk meaningfully with those who are close to them about matters such as serious illness, dying and death. 

The following organisations provide information on making a will:

• Citizens Information
• FLAC Free Legal Advice Centres

The hospice is a specialist unit which provides palliative care. You can attend the hospice as an inpatient or an outpatient (day care).

The hospice mainly treats illnesses that can no longer be cured. Many people who receive hospice care have cancer, but they also treat patients with other conditions.

If you are referred to the hospice, it does not necessarily mean that you are going to die soon. You may be referred to the hospice as an inpatient for the following reasons:

• To get your symptoms under control. For example, pain or nausea.
• To give you and your carers support and a break. This is called respite care.
• For rehabilitation. Services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, complementary therapies and dietetics may be available to you and improve your wellbeing and quality of life.
• For end-of-life care

If there is no inpatient hospice in your area, there may be hospice beds available in community hospitals or nursing homes locally. Visit the Irish Hospice Foundation’s website for a list of services in your area.