Select Healthcare homes provide specialised palliative care to support individuals with terminal illnesses and their families.

What is Palliative Care?

Palliative care is a holistic approach to supporting an individual with an incurable illness. It is described as a holistic form of care because supports the spiritual, social and psychological aspects of someone with a life-limiting illness and their family or carers. Palliative care is based on the following principles:

- Improving the quality of life of an individual and to support their family and carers.
- Providing round-the-clock care in a comfortable environment.
- Respecting and understanding residents' wishes
- Providing practical support to facilitate the long-term needs of those receiving palliative care.

Palliative care is highly individual and is sometimes referred to as a type of “supportive care” because it aims to provide comfort and support rather than providing a cure. Residents who live in a Select Healthcare palliative care home still receive medical treatment as normal alongside palliative care.

Who Can Receive Palliative Care?

Palliative care is suitable for anyone who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness or a life-limiting condition. Although palliative care includes end-of-life care, palliative care treatments can start sooner to help maintain a good quality of life while suffering from an incurable disease. This means that an individual can receive stroke palliative care or palliative care for liver cancer while their condition is being treated medically.

What is the Difference Between Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care?

Palliative care can be defined as a part of end-of-life care, aimed at making an individual as comfortable as possible when suffering from a terminal illness and also supports the family or carers of the individual. End-of-life care is a form of palliative care usually put into place when an individual is close to the end of life. Palliative care can be put into place as soon as someone is diagnosed with a life-limiting illness and doesn’t have to be reserved for the last months or weeks of an individual's life. An individual can receive palliative care for several years for prolonged and progressive illnesses like dementia and cancer.

What Can I Expect From a Select Healthcare Palliative Care home?

There is more to palliative care than ensuring medical needs are met. Select Healthcare Palliative care homes holistically support individuals and their families in the following ways:

- Providing a life that is as active and fulfilling as possible in a safe and comfortable environment.
- Providing 24-hour pain management, personal care support and additional support with eating and drinking.
- Ensuring the dignity of the resident at all times, including during their final moments.
- Supporting family members and carers to help them to cope while their loved one receives palliative care.
- Providing assessments for additional equipment to aid the quality of life such as wheelchairs and hoists.
- Providing spiritual and emotional support to residents. This support can take the form of religious services if requested, an assessment for psychologist services or activities that support well-being like reminiscence therapy for residents with dementia for example.
- Providing companionship through social activities or on 1-1 staff support.

Who Provides Palliative Care?

Within a Select Healthcare residential care home, palliative care is provided by a specifically trained palliative care team. This team includes care assistants, specialist palliative care nurses, as well as GPs and other health and social care professionals like occupational health therapists, physiotherapists and counsellors who work off-site. All members of this multidisciplinary team provide coordinated palliative care which focuses on enhancing the quality of life and ensures the wishes and needs of the resident are met.

Palliative Care in Select Healthcare Homes.

Select Healthcare palliative care homes are located across the UK and provide a high standard of end-of-life care and palliative treatments in clean and secure surroundings. If you’re looking for palliative care services in your area for yourself or your loved ones, contact our team of friendly and helpful staff for more information.

 

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