Palliative care in Melbourne is a type of medical treatment that focuses on the physical, social, and emotional needs of patients who have a serious illness or condition that cannot be cured. The goal is to make sufferers as comfortable as possible in their remaining time. Palliative care can help by relieving symptoms such as nausea, making it easier for someone to eat and drink, and relieving pain. It can also involve talking about any worries or concerns about dying and answering questions people might have about what happens after death.
With NDIS support coordination of palliative care is growing in Australia. This approach involves the integration of all the services that support the physical and emotional needs of patients (health care). It is provided by nurses and doctors (specialists) from many different types of health professions including general medicine, psychiatry, paediatrics, surgery etc. The aim of the Palliative Care Unit is for patients to be as comfortable as possible in their remaining time and for families to be given support throughout. Its various benefits include:
- Increased comfort
- Improved quality of life
- Better communication between patients and families
- Decreased anxiety and depression
- Improved access to services
- Decreased cost of care (health care)
This service is also available to people who are not in a hospital but live in the community or are in nursing homes etc, so long as they have a serious illness or condition that cannot be cured and may need support for a long period of time (more than 6 months). This support can be given by specially trained nurses and doctors who visit them at home which helps to promote their independence, dignity, quality of life and well-being, as well as providing support to family members etc.
So Palliative Care is very helpful for people to have peace of their mind when they are at the end of life; this means a painless death.