What is Palliative Care?

The World Health Organisation defines Palliative Care as :

An approach that improves the quality of life of individuals and their families facing the problems associated with life threatening conditions, through the prevention and the relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical,psychosocial and spiritual.

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  provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms.
• affirms life and regards death as a normal process.
• intends neither to hasten nor postpone death.
• integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of care;
• offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death.
• offers a support system to help the family cope during the patient's illness and in their own bereavement.
• uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their families.
• is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other therapies that are intended to prolong life.

Palliative Care is appropriate to many conditions that have a terminal phase and and are progressive in nature.