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Palliative Care End of Life Care Last Days/Hours Care

Palliative Care Overview

Learn about palliative care, which supports the clinical, emotional and spiritual needs of individuals/families coping with a life-limiting illness.

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Palliative Care

Palliative care is an approach to care that supports the clinical, emotional and spiritual needs of individuals and their families coping with a life-limiting illness. Palliative care and a palliative approach to care focuses on comfort and support to the person and family, assists with making plans and decisions for the journey ahead, and optimizes quality of life. Sharing health care wishes and goals with loved ones, doctors and other health care providers is important.

Palliative Care Approach

  • Use a palliative approach for any advancing, life-limiting illness, cancer or non-cancer

  • Engage in advance care planning, serious illness and goals of care conversations

  • Optimize quality of life concurrent with desired treatment and intervention

  • Provide early and regular symptom assessment and management to ease symptom burden

  • Provide individual and family education

  • Engage with and optimize community supports

End of Life Care

The goals for end of life care continue to be guided by the person’s known wishes and priorities. Care remains active and focuses on easing pain and other discomfort, as well as to support living well to the end of life. It is important that all end of life care options are discussed and the individual’s choices are respected. This may include questions and planning related to medical assistance in dying (MAiD). Providing emotional and spiritual support for the person, family and friends as death draws nearer is very important.

End of Life Care Approach

  • Estimated weeks to months of life

  • Active medical care to relieve symptoms

  • Ongoing holistic supports to live well

  • Hospice care can be considered

  • Palliative care can be considered

  • Palliative respite can be offered to individuals for symptom management or to provide relief for caregivers

Last Days/Hours Care

Last days and hours care are those precious moments in which the person is still alive and when time is very short. The goals for care are to provide pain and symptom management, emotional and spiritual care, and to continue to honour the expressed wishes of the person throughout the dying process, as well as with after-death care. This care includes providing support to family and loved ones.

Last Days/Hours Care Approach

  • Active pain and symptom management

  • Psychosocial, emotional and spiritual supports*

  • Bereavement and grief supports*

*Not restricted to last days/hours

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