Living with a chronic illness is as bad as things can get for an individual. More than 15 million people in the UK alone live with these illnesses and health conditions even to this day. Yet, just about 300,000 people receive palliative homecare for relief.
These patients deserve proper care at the end of their life journey, and palliative homecare is an excellent fix. Studies suggest that this approach to care does not just enhance life but also prolongs the survival of the patient.
Despite the effectiveness of palliative homecare, there are still many who don’t know about it. Just in case you have any confusion about it, read this blog to the end for a clearer idea.
But First, What Exactly Is Palliative Homecare?
Palliative care is a specialised care for people living with chronic or serious illnesses. This unique approach to care focuses more on comfort support and symptom relief than the conventional approach. The best thing about this is that it also offers support for caregivers and the ones impacted by the condition of their loved ones.
You can think of palliative homecare as an added layer of support on top of conventional care. The primary focus here is the patient’s unique needs and ensuring the care enhances their quality of life. This is quite different from hospice, which mostly deals with end-of-life care. Instead, palliative care can help people of any age and at different stages of a severe illness.
Who Can Benefit From Palliative Care?
Contrary to popular perception, proper palliative care can be a true game-changer for most people. Your age, prognosis, or even the curative treatments that you might be getting make no difference here. Some of the most common health conditions where this treatment can help include:
● Cancer
● HIV and AIDS
● Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
● Heart diseases
● Alzheimer’s disease
● Liver disease
● Kidney disease
● Multiple sclerosis (MS)
● Stroke
● Lung diseases like emphysema and COPD
● Parkinson’s disease
Who Can Provide Proper Palliative Care?
Palliative care is generally a collaborative effort by an entire team of professionals. This includes both medical providers and specialists who help the patient better manage their symptoms. These professionals also help better navigate the added responsibilities and stress that are often a by-product of a chronic illness. In most cases, this team should include the following professionals:
● Nurses
● Social workers
● Doctors
● Physician assistants
● Nurse practitioners
Different Types of Support You Can Expect From Palliative Care?
Palliative care can supplement your medical care in a number of different ways based on your illness and condition. Some of the most common of these ways include:
1. Symptom Relief
Palliative care is one of the most effective ways to address symptoms related to chronic illnesses. These symptoms can range from mental to physical and even emotional. The team looking after you might help you directly or equip you with the strategies to better deal with pain. Some of the most important symptoms palliative care can help you with include:
● Constipation
● Fatigue
● Anxiety
● Loss of appetite
● Depression
● Pain or discomfort
● Nausea
● Stress
● Shortness of breath
● Trouble sleeping
The team will use different effective ways to provide you with proper symptom relief. This might include cognitive exercises, breathing exercises, medication, relaxation exercises, and even tips for getting better sleep.
2. Social Support
Another important way palliative care makes a tangible difference is with proper social support. We understand that chronic illness does not just affect the patient but also their loved ones. This is where social support for the patient and their loved ones becomes an excellent thing.
These professionals can help get in touch with support groups and help facilitate better communication. With better support from your friends and family members, managing increased stress levels becomes much easier.
3. Education and Advocacy
Another very important area where palliative care makes a real difference is education and advocacy. These professionals can help you better understand the conditions unique to you and their effects on you.
This also goes a long way in determining the right course of action for the treatment and proceeding accordingly. As a result, making more informed decisions becomes much easier for the patient and family members.
4. Spiritual Support
In certain cases, palliative care might also include some form of spiritual support. This approach might include spending time with spiritual and religious advisors who can help the patient. In simple terms, it can help process the illness and mitigate its effect on life.
How Exactly Does Palliative Care Help with Long-Term Illnesses?
There are a number of different ways palliative care can help better deal with long-term illnesses. Some of the most of these ways include:
● Minimal Hospitalisation: Nobody enjoys spending time in a hospital, and palliative care can help here. This approach can help reduce the need for frequent visits to emergency rooms or hospitals. With proactive symptom management, you can easily get the necessary care from the comfort of your home.
● Better Quality of Life: Regular social and emotional support paired with effective symptom management helps enhance the quality of life. This could mean that the patient sleeps better, feels less pain, and is emotionally in a better place.
● Improve in Coping Skills: Long-term illnesses come with many challenges for patients and their loved ones. Palliative care helps develop the right coping skills to manage the relevant challenges better.
● Increased Chances of Survival: Palliative care is not a cure but can still improve a patient’s chances of surviving longer. The primary logic here is that this care helps better manage symptoms, improve quality of life, and positively affect health.
Concluding Thoughts
Anyone living with a chronic or long-term illness is well aware of the toll it takes on the patient and their families. This is where palliative care becomes an excellent way to make things a little easier for everyone.
Proper palliative care can help better manage symptoms and provide social and emotional support to promote well-being. If you or a loved one falls victim to these illnesses, make sure you consider palliative care at least once.
