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Palliative care is the active holistic treatment of patients with advanced, progressive disease.

The Palliative Care Team aims to help patients with cancer and their families to maximise the benefits of treatment, to live as well as possible with the effects of the disease and to achieve the best quality of life. Psychological support is also available via your Clinical Nurse Specialist. More advanced psychological support may be available locally, for example, via the Palliative Care team.

You and your family can get help at any time from diagnosis onwards, through your Clinical Nurse Specialist or Key Worker.

What is a hospice?

Modern hospice care is about helping people to live well throughout their illness and no longer just about care in the last days of life. In an age when choice is all-important, hospice care seeks to give back some of the choices which illness may seem to have taken away.

Hospices are concerned for the whole person, their families and carers, aiming to meet physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. Staff and volunteers work in multidisciplinary teams to provide a range of services based on the individual. These may include; symptom relief, specialist nursing and medical care, counselling, complementary and creative therapies, spiritual care, physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

Although patients may be faced with a potentially life-limiting illness hospice care is an approach that seeks to improve quality of life. The emphasis is on living with illness and living to the full. This is applicable at every stage of treatment and can take place in conjunction with other therapies such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Care is provided on an in or outpatient basis according to facilities and need.

Hospices are charitable organisations. They work closely with other health professionals in the NHS but are independent and receive only a small percentage of funding from government sources. All services provided are entirely free of charge but donations are always welcome to support ongoing care provision. Many organise fundraising events and use shop outlets to generate much-needed income.

Hospices in Worcestershire