Palliative Care

Palliative Care is the active holistic care of clients with advanced progressive illness. The management of pain and other symptoms, as well as the provision of psychological, social and spiritual support, is paramount. The goal of palliative care is to achieve the best quality of life for clients and their families. Many aspects of palliative care are also applicable earlier in the course of the illness - in conjunction with other treatments

Specialist knowledge

Individuals facing serious life-threatening illness and approaching death deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and compassion and to receive care that is focused on their own choices. As well as this, families need and deserve to receive support. To achieve their goals, individuals need to plan ahead, know their choices, make sound decisions and share their wishes with their loved ones and health care professionals.

The PULSE Independent Living team understands the need to be aware of each client’s goals of care. We will discuss choices for palliative care with their clients who have advanced progressive chronic illness, or are terminally ill.

We can provide support to people who are seriously ill with cancer or another condition and want to be looked after at home, rather than go into hospital. We work in partnership with the local Primary Care Trust (PCT), Macmillan nurses, Marie Curie nurses, hospices and GPs to provide palliative care.

Palliative Care is a term used to describe the situation where a person is very ill with a progressive disease and the condition cannot be cured.

How we work

When someone is ill and living at home, their medical care is the responsibility of their local GP and Community Nursing service provided by the local PCT. We can work with your Community Nurse (also called a District Nurse) in co-ordinating care at home and help to choose whether palliative care at home is right for you.

PULSE Independent Living works closely with your local Community Nursing service to offer one-to-one specialised nursing and care support:

• The Community Nurse will carry out an initial assessment of the client's needs and decide, in consultation with the client and family, what support is required.
• If palliative care at home is right for you, we will agree the care and what shifts are needed and who will deliver the care. This may be a Nurse or Support Worker depending on your individual needs.
• The PCT will supply any medical equipment needed for your home care.
• PULSE will work with the Community Nurse to review your individual care and decide whether to increase or decrease the amount of care needed.

If you or someone you know may benefit from Palliative Care, you can contact PULSE Independent Living to help you to make arrangements.

To discuss how our services can tailored to meet your specific needs, please contact our friendly team on 0845 257 6879 or email pil@pulsestaffing.co.uk

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