Palliative care begins at the latest when medical options for curing a disease have been exhausted and life expectancy is limited. The most important goal of palliation is to alleviate the patient’s symptoms and give them the highest possible quality of life. This also includes, in consultation with the patient, foregoing a potentially life-prolonging therapy if this would be accompanied by disproportionate suffering.
More than end-of-life care
Palliative medicine / palliative care is not limited to the last phase of life. Even if a seriously ill person may still be alive for years, palliative principles can help him or her to achieve a better quality of life and as little pain and anxiety as possible from the time of diagnosis. In many cases, however, it is also possible to apply palliative approaches in addition to curative therapy.
An essential component of palliative care is the best possible alleviation of physical discomfort – for example, through sophisticated pain therapy and relief from nausea or shortness of breath. In this respect, palliative medicine has made considerable progress in recent years.
Palliative care is always teamwork. Doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, physiotherapists and pastors work together to provide comprehensive care for the sick. They are often supported by volunteers who are specially trained in end-of-life care.
Palliative care supports patients in living their lives as actively as possible until death. In a broader sense, palliative care also includes enabling positive experiences. Simply looking up at the sky. Feeling the sun and wind on your skin. Listening to a beloved piece of music. Cuddling with the cat. Saying goodbye to a loved one.
Relatives in palliative care
Care in the dying phase
When death becomes foreseeable, it is the task of palliative care to enable the patient to die peacefully with dignity. Even in the last phase of life, the aim is to control symptoms and minimize suffering.
Inpatient palliative care
Outpatient palliative care
Development of palliative care
Palliative care in Germany today
Currently, there are around 330 palliative care units in hospitals, 1500 outpatient hospice services, 230 inpatient hospices for adults and 17 inpatient hospices for children, adolescents and young adults nationwide.
There are also still gaps in outpatient palliative care, especially in the area of specialized outpatient palliative care. Care also varies from state to state and is particularly problematic in rural areas.
However, the topic of palliative care will remain topical and urgent – as people are getting older and therefore the number of cancer cases is also rising, for example, even more palliative care beds will be needed in the future.
