Palliative Care

Question 1

What is palliative care?

Answer 1

Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early intervention and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual

Question 2

What Palliative Care nurses do?

Answer 2

Affirms life and regards dying as a normal process.

• Aims neither to hasten or postpone death.
• Prevent and relief suffering and distressing symptoms.
• Integrates the physical (tinana), social (whanau), emotional (hinengaro) and spiritual (wairua) dimensions of human caring to help the person and their family attain an acceptable quality of life.
• Supports the family/whanau/carers during the person’s illness and in their bereavement.

Question 3

What is End of Life (EoL) Care

Answer 3

Refers to the last days of life – when the person is ‘actively dying’

Te Ara whakapiri: principals and guidance last days of life (MOH, 2015).
- provides guidelines and documentation for the delivery of quality care to dying patients, and their family/whanau.

• a tool to transfer the hospice end of life (EoL) care model into other care settings.
• to reduce barriers and improve accessibility to evidence-based EoL care.

Question 4

What is Advance Care Planning (ACP)

Answer 4

• ACP is a process of shared planning with an individual, whanau & health care professionals.
• ACP document gives people the opportunity to develop & express their preferences for future care based on:
• their values, beliefs, concerns, hopes & goals
• a better understanding of their current & likely future health
• the treatment & care options available.