Palliative Care Case

A person’s life can end at any age. They can depart quickly or slowly. End of life care, also known as palliative care, is the care of patients that are not only in their final hours or days but the patients with a terminal illness that has become incurable. End of life care takes into mind what the patient desires so it is recommended that they consider an advanced care plan also known as an advance directive and living will. These documents allow the patient to formulate decisions on the future of their care if, at any point, they cannot vocally express themselves.

Palliative Care is medical care focused on improving the quality of life of patients with serious illnesses, as by treating symptoms and providing emotional support (Dictionary.com, 2018). All of those involved with the palliative care process experience suffering. This includes individuals such as the patients nurses, family, friends and loved ones as well as the patient themselves. The levels of suffering would very between the people, but all would experience both physical and mental pain and would be faced with the prospect of having to say goodbye to those they care about. Depending on the type of terminal illness the patient has, they might be in great amounts of physical pain, so much so that they might turn to euthanasia as a way to end their suffering and have a dignified death. Euthanasia is the deliberate termination of a life of another person with the intention of relieving that person of either physical or emotional suffering.

Death is inevitable. It is one of the only certainties in life. Regardless, people are often uncomfortable discussing death. Nyatanga (2016) posits that the idea of no longer existing increases anxiety and emotional distress in relation to one’s mortality. Because of the difficulty in level of care for end-of-life patients, the patient and the family often need professional assistance for physical and emotional care. Many family caregivers are not professionally trained in medicine, and this is where hospice comes into play. Hospice aims to meet the holistic needs of both the patient and the patient’s family through treatment plans, education, and advocacy. There is a duality of care to the treatment provided by hospice staff in that they do not attempt to separate the patient’s care from the family’s care. Leming and Dickinson (2011) support that hospice, unlike other clinical fields, focuses on the patient and the family together instead of seeing the patient independent of the family. Many times in hospitals, the medical team focuses solely on the goal of returning the patient back to health in order for them to return to their normal lives. They do not take into account the psychological and spiritual components of the patient’s journey and the journey that the family must take as well. For treatment of the patient, Leming and Dickinson agree that hospice does not attempt to cure patients, and instead concentrates solely

The World Health Organisation (2010) defines palliative care as: An approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing problems associated with life threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual. It is also our duty to support John and his wife`s in their decision for John to die at home, Department of health (2008) patients should have a choice over the care they receive and where.

Before I started this class I thought palliative care was only used as end of life care, or for when a curative treatment was unavailable or had failed. As we learned about the different models of care, and how they have changed over the years, it became evident that the use of palliative care has changed drastically over the past several decades. In the 1800s to 1900s, palliative care was only used once the patient had reached the dying stage, and only included the patient in this care, not their families1. Before taking this course, this is what I thought of palliative care as well. Since the late 1900s though, palliative care has been used in a more proactive approach. From the moment an individual receives a life threatening illness, palliative care begins. This includes caring for the family of the patient as well. This care increases as the patient’s illness progresses, and even continues for the family after the death of the patient. Learning this has really made an impact on how I would like to work as a

Nurses: Assist the patients and families to cope with the end-of-life process such as assessing and

The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate understanding of long term conditions and palliative care. Nursing care in general entails holistic care and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, whether sick or well (Royal College of Nursing, (RCN) 2007). Better management of lifelong conditions has been the priority of the National Health Service since the 1990s. When long term conditions are managed well in the community, patients’ can live a quality life without visiting hospital frequently (RCN, 2011). In Britain, six in ten people are reported to be suffering from long term conditions that currently cannot be cured; and these people are often suffering from more than one condition that makes their care challenging. It is estimated that by 2030 the UK will have double the number of people aged 85 years or over, who are living with one or more long term condition (Department of Health, 2014).

Palliative care is designed for individuals who have chronic, long-term and severe illnesses. This care option is available for patients with diverse illnesses like kidney failure, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, ADIS and other chronic diseases. No matter how old or young the patient is, our staff members provide them with the support and care that they need.

The assessments of the patient in an end of life situation must occur frequently as to detect rapid and/or minimal changes in the patient’s condition. It is also the primary nurse’s role to report any and all changes to the multidisciplinary team, including the family members.

Palliative care (pronounced pal-lee-uh-tiv) is specialized medical care for people with serious illness. It focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses, social workers and other specialists who work together with a patient’s doctors to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided along with curative treatment.

Palliative care is a relatively new concept. Palliative care programs have become more numerous and better utilized since 2000 and continue to grow. It is now accepted that the palliative care model is appropriate for patients with life-limiting illnesses. Chan et al. (2013) stated that the ultimate goal of palliative care is to relieve suffering and to maximize the quality of life for dying patients and their families, regardless of the stage of illness or the need for other medical treatments (p. 133). As life-expectancy increases, there is a growing need for these services. People are living longer with chronic diseases and palliative care services can provide an extra layer of support to patients and their families. Evidence has shown that 13% - 36% of hospital inpatients qualify for palliative care services (Robinson, Gott, & Ingleton, 2014).

In 1970 hospice care was introduce in United State, this was a care that is given to dying patient and family member to provided compassionate care during their end of life. While, According to get palliative care, Palliative care focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. (Get Palliative care). The relationship between hospice and palliative care comes hands and hands to achieve best quality end of life. “palliative care does not have time limit, it’s start in diagnosis through the end of life”(Ihrig, 2009) we refer them to palliative care as as soon as we diagnose them with disease such as cancer or multi-organ failure. In addition,

I have been a registered nurse at UCLA for 18 months. One particular issue that has captured my attention is the utilization of palliative care in health care. Because nurses are generally at the bedside all the time, they have an important role to play in voicing the importance of its utilization and implementation in the patient’s care.

The nurse is considered as the primary care giver and hence will assume a role of coordination within the team (James et al., 2008). This responsibility is also important in making sure that the solutions and interventions implemented are assessed on a continuous basis and to acknowledge that as the needs of the patient change so does the care plan (Collins-Bride & Saxe, 2013). Palliative care nurse in Nancy’s case provides professional advice on management of symptoms, and education to staff and patient, and coordinates with other health team members. The palliative care nurse offers advice on the process of dying and assists in ensuring that the right medications are ready in case the patient’s situation deteriorates speedily. This may entail adequate opiods, sedatives, and suitable management plan of the bowel. PRN medication’s availability is also important so as to guide successful nursing interventions and palliative physician can be contacted once the symptoms turn out to be

Key importance of the palliative care approach in nursing is for it to be responsive, rather than