Palliative care

A safe place

Hospice care is a system of care that helps those with an incurable illness to focus on making the most of whatever time is left. Support is also offered to those close to the patient, and many hospices also offer care during the bereavement period.

Hospices are no longer just for the last days of life. They now offer a range of support, often alongside active treatment for an illness. The focus of modern hospice care is on helping people to live well until they die - to help with suffering, be it emotional or physical. The principles of respect, choice, flexibility and dignity are those that underpin the hospice movement. High staffing ratios and a huge number of volunteers allow families the time and space to address what's troubling them. This is rarely possible in a busy hospital ward.

You can be admitted to a hospice for help with a particular problem such as pain or nausea, or you can go for a week to give your family a break. Hospices also offer expert care at the end of life. Dying in a hospice can bring families peace and allow a closeness which isn't always possible at home, where there are many other distractions.

Attending as an outpatient

Most hospices have teams of doctors, specialist nurses, family support departments, chaplains, physiotherapists, dieticians and complementary therapists whom you may be able to access without being admitted. You can attend as a day patient or an outpatient. Some hospice services aren't based in a building at all and focus on providing hospice nursing care in the patient's home.

If you don't know what hospice and palliative care services are available locally and your GP or district nurse can't help, call the Hospice Information Service on 0870 903 3903.