What is palliative care? It is essentially a type of specialised care that focuses on relieving symptoms that result in stress and great pain.
Objective of palliative care
Palliative care is meant to help patients suffering a serious illness to come to terms with their situation and improve physically and emotionally. It is worth noting that these types of care are applicable once a diagnosis has been made, during treatment and once life comes to an end. During any of these stages, palliative care and medical treatments always try to subdue the symptoms and side effects of the disease.
What does palliative care come with?
Patients suffering from severe illnesses constantly face disruptions in their lives due to the symptoms that come with the disease in question. The symptoms are not physical and this is where palliative care comes in as it considers only the main causes of stress and pain to achieve the best well-being. Some of the physical symptoms of stress and pain include;
Loss of appetite
Varied pains
Shortness of breath or dyspnea
Insomnia
You can treat the above physical symptoms through medication, specific diets for each symptom and physical therapy. Some of the emotional disturbances include;
Depression
Anxiety
High stress
Afraid
High stress
The above emotional symptoms are treatable through support groups, companionship and psychological support.
Who is palliative care intended for?
Basing that the main objective of palliative treatment is to improve the life quality of chronically ill patients, palliative care comes with a wide range of action.
There are various varied cases among elderly people. Through palliative care, psychologists help to mediate between the caregiver and the family to face the situation.
Which people are involved in palliative care
Some of the people that are involved in palliative care include:
Caregivers at home
Endocrine
Specialist doctors
Physiotherapists
Nurses and skilled nurses
Psychologists
Characteristics of palliative care professional
One of the requirements needed to perform palliative care functions while caring for the elderly at home is a sensitised staff and has the best level of empathy towards patients that require this kind of care.
What does hospice at home mean?
This care involves a series of cares which premise is to find out the wants of patients. Moreover, it helps to comfort him while improving the quality of the patients' lives.
Cuidum has internal caregivers who focus their efforts mainly on controlling physical, social and emotional symptoms. As a result, it maximises the level of comfort for older adults. The caregivers also work closely with the family members to develop ideal conditions for care in the home.
Importance of home care help
Among the importance of home care is that it provides relief to older people together with their family members. It also reduces fatigue and stress for the whole family group. Family care offers security and the elderly can also handle their difficulties and conflicts once there is close support.
Objectives of home care
Among the major priorities that home care provides is improving patients' quality of life. While on their last days, it is necessary to provide them with specialised support from a medical team and the company of the family and the caregiver. End of life care pathways helps the practitioners go through a patients' care plan in the last weeks of their life. End life care pathway helps follow the desires and requests of a patient.
End of life care helps dying patients go through their final desires. In doing so, a care plan is used. So what is in a care plan? Care plans help your wishes to be known. Regardless of a patient's preference, their care plan should include:
The desired outcomes.
The cost of services offered.
Who offers the care
The needs of your assessed care
Records of the care provided
The kind of support needed
Palliative care pathway promotes personal cleanliness. Among the basic needs that a person needs is daily grooming. When it comes to patients with special needs, the most important personal cleanliness is bath time. Pathways palliative care also helps the patients go through difficult moments.
Under the psychological and medical team guidelines that offer treatment of the patients, the professionals also consider daily cleaning and hygiene, food, and the elderly move around.
Another pathway to palliative care is feeding. The person in charge of palliative care must know that patients might experience a lack of appetite.
Mobility is also among pathway end of life care. Promoting mobility among the elderly helps boost their quality of life. Caregivers in charge of conducting palliative care must understand the characteristics of the disease at hand. They also have to understand the mobility they possess.
The relation between family balance and home care is that the family's emotional and physical burden endures when family members require pathways palliative care. Sharing and delegating a patient's care and other family members or available social resources that help distribute tasks. This helps reduce stress and, at the same time, favour the appearance of rest moments.
On certain occasions, mainly for difficult cases, it is recommended to seek psychological help from a specialist to try and solve the harsh situation the families and patients help. If you are going through the same situation, our best wishes and thoughts are with you and your family.
