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How To Know If Someone Is Ready For Palliative Care

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  • 07-12-2021
How To Know If Someone Is Ready For Palliative Care

How do you know when someone is ready for palliative care? This article looks at what diseases palliative care will treat and who should receive palliative care.

When is someone ready for palliative care?

Deciding when a person is ready to receive end of life care or palliative care is a detailed process, requiring a full appraisal of their physical health. 

Many factors need to be considered when deciding if they are ready for this type of care, given that palliative care is typically reserved for those with life-limiting illnesses or who are close to death to provide them with a greater quality of life so they can spend more time with family and friends. 

The patient's end of life or hospice and palliative care teams usually determine whether they are ready for this type of care or not. This team can also offer you or your loved ones advice and information about the types of care options available and any local support you might be eligible for. 

Here are a few questions you might want to ask when considering if you or your loved one is ready for palliative care:

What treatment options are available? 

What are the wishes of the person living with the condition? 

What palliative care and symptom control options are available? 

What is the nature of the illness, and how will it progress?

What treatment options are available?

Once you or your loved one has received all of the care and treatment possible in the hospital to remedy whatever underlying illness you or they might have, comfort and quality of life should be the next goal of any continued care and support.

In cases like this, the timing of when end of life or palliative care should be introduced relies on the type of illness or condition you or your loved one has and the way it was previously treated. 

What To Expect From End Of Life Care

What are the wishes of the person living with the condition?

In another example, you or your loved one might wish to receive end of life care or palliative care straight away once diagnosed with a progressive, terminal illness. 

In this instance, a healthcare provider may have informed you or your loved one of the different options regarding your treatment, such as chemotherapy or major surgery, which you or they personally do not want to undergo.

In this case, the timing of palliative care arrangements is determined by you or your loved one's wishes.

What palliative care and symptom control options are available?

Whether someone is eligible for a palliative care program or care in a hospice is usually determined by the criteria established by those services. For example, some services offer palliative care for individuals with fewer than six months to live. 

However, someone diagnosed with a life-threatening illness can still choose to receive comforting care and support even if they have a few years left to live so they can spend more time with family members. 

While those who fall into this second category typically won't be eligible for dedicated palliative care or hospice program, they may still receive guidance from professionals and advice on symptom control and pain management on a consultation basis. 

Regarding these circumstances, the timing of the palliative care you or your loved one receives will be determined by the availability of these services.

What palliative care and symptom control options are available?

The development or progression of a life-limiting illness may also determine how you or your loved one chooses to be cared for. Progressive illnesses, such as terminal cancer, may sway the decision to focus more on comfort and palliative care. 

In cases such as this, your or your loved one's health may be steadily declining, making it more difficult to live independently. 

There are certain conditions, such as chronic illnesses, where a terminal stage is difficult to detect, so it is uncertain when palliative care should be given. 

Additionally, complications encountered during illnesses can sometimes be treatable, further reducing the certainty of when palliative care should be provided.

In the early stages of a condition or illness, palliative pain control can form part of the overall care plan. 

As the condition progresses, more and more palliative and comforting approaches begin to be introduced. 

Generally, as the condition begins to deteriorate, the work required to treat the illness outweighs the benefits, leading the focus of the care to turn away from treatment and towards comfort. 

What is the nature of the illness, and how will it progress?

The development or progression of a life-limiting illness may also determine how you or your loved one chooses to be cared for. Progressive illnesses, such as terminal cancer, may sway the decision to focus more on comfort and palliative care. In cases such as this, your or your loved one's health may be steadily declining, making it more difficult to live independently. 

There are certain conditions, such as chronic illnesses, where a terminal stage is difficult to detect, so it is uncertain when palliative care should be given. Additionally, complications encountered during illnesses can sometimes be treatable, further reducing the certainty of when palliative care should be provided.

In the early stages of a condition or illness, palliative pain control can form part of the overall care plan. As the condition progresses, more and more palliative and comforting approaches begin to be introduced. 

Generally, as the condition begins to deteriorate, the work required to treat the illness outweighs the benefits, leading the focus of the care to turn away from treatment and towards comfort. 

Transition to palliative care

For example, someone with a lung disease may have contracted pneumonia at some point, leading them to need treatment in the hospital. On the other hand, the palliative approach would not attempt to treat the infection. Instead, it would attempt to manage the symptoms, such as shortness of breath. The point at which the palliative approach takes over depends on the patients and their conditions. 

It is often best to incorporate palliative techniques while undergoing treatment, allowing a gradual transition rather than establishing a specific starting point for the team that provides palliative care and support. This transitional approach is advocated by many professional care providers, such as doctors, nurses and health organisations.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) officially designates palliative care as a service that can apply to the start of treatment for conditions, working alongside methods and therapies intended to prolong life. 

These two methods working together can help people make better decisions regarding what care services would be best for them.

Receiving palliative care while undergoing treatment does not mean they must be placed on a proper care and support program. They can receive comforting care from the care team looking after them during their medical treatments. 

When they reach the end of their life, they will be placed on a formal program. Again, the qualifying criteria for palliative care will differ between cases, but just because someone is not on a formal care program does not mean they cannot receive palliative care. 

Who should receive palliative care?

Palliative care will not be applicable for everyone, and not everyone will be eligible for a formal palliative care program. There are many factors to consider when determining someone's eligibility. 

This will usually start by discussing your or your loved one's needs with a healthcare team, typically comprising doctors and nurses. This team will determine what kinds of care and support you need to remain as comfortable as possible until they die.

Here is a summary of the things they will consider:

What is the type of condition

While your or your loved one's healthcare providers may not be able to tell how long you or they are expected to live regarding palliative care, they will be able to determine what kinds of symptoms you or they can expect to experience. 

This will provide a better idea of what kinds of appropriate treatments or palliative care will most benefit you or your loved one. 

Even the condition being treated is not immediately life-threatening, palliative care for greater comfort can still be put in place alongside other treatments.

What are your wishes and expectations

You or your loved one could find that the course of treatment you decided upon when first diagnosed is becoming too difficult to manage, possibly believing that it is better to stop treatment altogether to focus on your comfort. 

In this case, your or your loved one's care should reflect your wishes entirely, with your formal palliative care program providing all the support you or they personally want. 

What diseases does palliative care treat?

Initially, palliative care was conceived as a care service for those with terminal illnesses approaching the end of their lives. 

However, more contemporary healthcare methods and therapies also introduce palliative care into treatments for those with life-limiting illnesses.

Under the World Health Organisations definition, the main aim of palliative care is to provide those with serious illnesses and conditions with pain management and comfort until the end.  

Today, conditions such as cancer, AIDS, heart disease, Alzheimer's, chronic lung disease, Multiple Sclerosis and many more serious conditions can be treated using palliative care methods. 

Managing the symptoms of these serious conditions is the main goal of palliative care, such as managing pain or the side effects of chemotherapy. 

Symptoms that palliative care can address

Given that palliative care is meant to address certain symptoms and to make them more bearable, here are a few examples of the symptoms that can be managed:

Pain 

Nausea and vomiting 

Weight loss or wasting

Bowel and bladder issues

Constipation or diarrhoea Incontinence

Coughing 

Weakness 

Loss of appetite 

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath 

Depression 

Emotional stress

Mental confusion 

Difficulty sleeping 


If you have questions about how to live better with Palliative Care, we hope this information has been useful to you.

We offer specialist home care services and live-in care for vulnerable adults throughout London. Get in contact today if you have a loved one that would benefit from professional care at home.