Teams and services
Specialist palliative care service
A team specialising in comfort, symptoms and support, which usually offers far more than most people expect and much earlier.
A service you are referred to, rather than one person you meet.
A palliative care service is a team, not just a doctor. Nurses, doctors, social workers, therapists, counsellors and often chaplaincy. What the word hospice means differs sharply between countries: in the United Kingdom and Australia a hospice commonly runs day services, outpatient clinics, counselling and respite years before end of life, while in the United States hospice is a specific benefit with an eligibility rule attached. The section for your country below is the one to read.
How you reach this person, and who pays, depends on where you live. Set your country in Location and Compass will show what applies there.
What they can help with
- Symptoms that have not settled, particularly breathlessness, pain and secretions
- Rapid access advice, often including an out of hours number
- Respite, day services and sitting services in some areas
- Counselling, for you and for your family, including children
- Equipment and practical help at home
- Planning what happens if things change suddenly
- Bereavement support for your family afterwards
When you might meet them
- Early. Involvement is not a signal about how long you have
- When a symptom is not being controlled
- When the household is stretched and respite would help
- When you want to plan for a crisis before one happens
- When your family needs support in their own right
Things you could ask about
- What do you actually offer besides the things I am imagining?
- Is there a number I can ring at night and at weekends?
- Can my family use your counselling service too?
- Does being under your service change anything about my other care?
Not to be confused with
Not the same as end of life care, and being referred does not mean anyone has decided anything about time. Palliative care runs alongside every other treatment you are having. Be careful reading material from another country: hospice does not mean the same thing everywhere, and in some systems it carries an eligibility rule that changes what you would be giving up.