Palliative care is clearly associated with the last stage of the disease, which inevitably leads to death. When medicine remains helpless in the face of the patient's condition, when the patient loses hope of recovery, the task of palliative care is to alleviate his pain and carry him through the last stage of his life with dignity. What is Palliative Care? How is home palliative care different from what a patient can count on in a hospital or hospice? What is palliative medicine and what is its purpose?

Palliative care- everything related to this issue is part of a specific field of medicine, calledpalliative medicineorterminal medicine . However, while the name "terminal" brings to mind the inevitability of death, the term "palliative" brings with it a lot of warmth and humanism.

Palliative care: tasks

The very source of the phrase (pallium - mantle) indicates slightly different tasks of this particular segment of he alth care.Palliative caredoes not aim to cure the patient or even stop the disease process. Palliative care is supposed toimprove the patient's quality of life , alleviate the symptoms of the disease, especially pain, and ensure the presence, spiritual and psychological support for the dying person. Necessary medications will be prescribed bypalliative medicine doctor , andpalliative nursewill help in caring for terminally ill.

Palliative care in hospital

Although palliative care does not improve he alth, its provision requires high qualifications and experience, including the non-medical one. In practice, it comes down to caring for the patient's body, administering and accompanying pain relief, mental support, and ensuring presence.

Due to these specific tasks, palliative care does not necessarily involve hospitalization. On the contrary, as long as the conditions allow, it is worth considering returning the patient home or transferring him to a hospice. It all depends on the possibilities of the family and the patient himself.

Hospital care gives easy access to medical supplies, provides staff and pharmacology, but in these conditions it is difficult toindividual approach to the patient, providing him with a sense of security, surrounding him with a coat of care and warmth. Hospitals are reluctant to undertake this type of care due to the lack of resources, places and personnel dedicated to terminally ill people.

Palliative care at home

If we want to organize palliative care at home, it will certainly require dedication of time and energy. But the effects are then incomparably better. It is extremely important for the sick person to spend the most difficult last days in the familiar surroundings, among their loved ones.

It may seem impossible to provide an adequate level of care at home. Care, physiotherapy, even the dosage of pharmacological agents requires professional preparation. Of course, the organization of care for terminally ill requires very strong support from the patient's family.

Palliative care in a home hospice

Fortunately, we do not have to do all the activities ourselves. It is possible to organize palliative care at home, with the participation of professional medical staff, based on funding from the National He alth Fund. this takes place under the so-called home hospices.

Registration of a patient, submission of an application for the organization of palliative care at home under the fund requires the completion of documents, but is not a particularly complicated procedure. Under the contract, the patient will have visits from a nurse and a palliative medicine doctor.

It should be noted, however, that these will not be daily visits. Therefore, it is worth asking the nurse for some kind of training, because undoubtedly, in home conditions, the burden of taking care of the sick person rests on the shoulders of the family. The nurse can teach the patient's family members how to perform nursing procedures, change dressings or administer injections.

There are also many home hospices in Poland run by foundations, parishes, religious congregations and other non-profit organizations. They offer free medical and nursing care as well as the help of volunteers gathered around a given hospice cell.

Palliative care in an inpatient hospice

If the family is unable to cope with the hardships of home care or it is completely impossible to organize care at home, there is an intermediate option, i.e. inpatient hospice. The sick person is away from home, but in a place specially dedicated to such activities.

Contrary to appearances, it does not have to be associated with high costs. Many hospice facilities have signed contracts with the National He alth Fund and the placement of a patient in such a place is then free of charge. Inin the hospice, the patient receives constant, professional medical and non-medical care.

Choosing between a hospital, hospice and home care is never easy. Home care for the dying person is always a challenge for the patient's family, therefore the decision on where and under what conditions the patient will spend his last days must take into account both his needs and the capabilities of his relatives.

Category:

Geriatrics