Palliative Care Week 2017

Helping to Raise Awareness Around National Palliative Care Week 2017

Palliative Care Week 2017

Palliative Care Week is running from September 3rd-9th this year. The All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) want people to understand palliative care and learn more about it. This years campaign theme which is sponsored by The HSE is – ‘Palliative Care – What have you heard?’.

There is a common misconception that palliative care is the last option for when other treatments are unsuccessful. For many, palliative care ultimately means death. At Myhomecare we are helping to support the campaign in raising awareness around Palliative Care and in the hope to better educate people on palliative care.

What is Palliative Care?

Palliative Care involves a team including pharmacists, physicians, nurses, physiotherapists etc. The aim of palliative care is to provide the best quality of life possible for people experiencing life-limiting illness through preventing and relieving suffering. Palliative care not only aids the physical needs of the patient, it also offers support to their psychological, social, spiritual and emotional needs. It lends support to the family in dealing with the patients illness or bereavement.

By treating a person, not a disease, you will always win.

Who needs it?

Palliative care is available for people of any age at any stage of their illness. The types of patients of palliative care include those with serious, life-long or life-threatening illness for example those with MS, cancer, dementia and HIV etc.

Why should I understand palliative care?

It is extremely important for people to be informed and educated that there is support for people with illness. Choosing palliative care early in illness can help avoid complications and better manage a patients illness. Talking about death is never easy, but a family member or close friend might some day need or greatly benefit from palliative care so it is extremely important to understand what it entails.

Myhomecare and Palliative Care

Our Philosophy – People are happier and live longer in the comfort of their own homes. People are more comfortable surrounded by familiarity, their belongings, friends and family. At Myhomecare, we aim to provide independent living in a safe and comfortable environment. We provide services for regular home help, advanced home help or nursing care. We tailor make packages to suit the individual needs of each client.

You have the power to change someones life, don't ever waste it.

What’s on?

Friday 8th September Milford Care Centre, Limerick.

Will have information stands in the Crescent Shopping Centre and Dunnes Store Shopping Centre. They are running a competition where one lucky winner will receive two Ed Sheeran tickets. For more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/MilfordCareCentre/ on palliative care week.

Wednesday 13th September Advance Care Planning Event

Seamus Heaney Home Place, 10 – 2pm organised on the behalf of Regional Palliative Care Programme, ‘Palliative Care in Partnership’.

Thursday 14th September Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning for Hospice

Enjoy a cup of Bewley’s coffee in support for your local hospice/home-care service of choice. 25 years running, this annual fundraiser that takes place in locations big and small all over Ireland has raised over €34,000,000. All funds raised go towards the hospice and homecare group of your choice and have life-changing impacts. Find out more: https://hospicecoffeemorning.ie/about-coffee-mornings/

For more information:

http://www.thepalliativehub.com/

https://myhomecareie.wpengine.com/caregiver-advice/palliative-care/

Advice for Older People

My Home Care Presentation – Who We Are

A recent presentation produced by our Homecare Manager Denis O Leary for Mallow Primary Healthcare Centre.

Caregiver Advice

Palliative Care

Palliative care:

From Latin palliare meaning to cloak) is an area of healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing the suffering of patients. Unlike hospice care, palliative medicine is appropriate for patients in all disease stages, including those undergoing treatment for curable illnesses and those living with chronic diseases, as well as patients who are nearing the end of life.

Palliative medicine utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, relying on input from physicians, pharmacists, nurses, chaplains, social workers, psychologists, and other allied health professionals in formulating a plan of care to relieve suffering in all areas of a patient’s life. This multidisciplinary approach allows the palliative care team to address physical, emotional, spiritual, and social concerns that arise with advanced illness.

Palliative care:

provides relief from pain, shortness of breath, nausea, and other distressing symptoms;
affirms life and regards dying as a normal process;
intends neither to hasten nor to postpone death;
integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care;
offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible;
offers a support system to help the family cope;
uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their families;
will enhance quality of life;
is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other therapies that are intended to prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

Palliative care and children

Palliative care for children is delivered differently from the palliative care services for adults. Many children requiring palliative care have life-limiting conditions, as opposed to advanced terminal conditions and children may survive for many years with these life-limiting conditions.

Where children need palliative care it is usually provided at home. In the home, the family is supported by their family doctor, public health nurse and the specialist palliative care team (where available). The medical and nursing care of children in hospitals is the responsibility of paediatric-trained medical and nursing staff, with support from the specialist palliative care service.

What does the Irish Association for Palliative Care do?

Established in 1993 as an all island body with the purpose of promoting palliative care nationally and internationally, the Irish Association for Palliative Care (IAPC) is a multi-disciplinary membership organisation.

The membership reflects the entire spectrum of all those who work in or have a professional interest in the provision of palliative care, i.e.,doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains and pastoral carers, pharmacists, psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therpaists, dieticians, as well as executive staff and academics and educationalists. Membership also includes clinicians and allied health professionals working in related areas such as geriatrics, oncology, psycho-oncology, paediatrics, and pain management.

As a sole membership organisation for those involved in the provision of palliative care, the IAPC is the primary collective and expert voice for palliative care in Ireland.

The core objectives of the IAPC are to:

strengthen the capacity of the palliative care sector through developing the professional capacity of individuals
promote the palliative care agenda through the Association’s collective and expert voice
drive patient-centred, equitable and accessible palliative care for all who need it through utilizing the Association’s expertise to influence and shape national policy.

For more information on IAPC please go to http://www.iapc.ie/index.php