Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of people facing serious, life-limiting illness, and of those close to them. It works by identifying and treating pain and other distressing symptoms, and by addressing psychological, social and spiritual needs alongside physical ones.
A persistent misunderstanding is that palliative care begins only when treatment stops. In practice it can and should run alongside active treatment from the point of diagnosis. Evidence from oncology in particular shows that early integration improves symptom control and quality of life, and in some studies is associated with survival at least as good as usual care.
End of life care is a subset of palliative care, generally referring to the support provided in the last year of life and intensifying in the final days. Palliative care is the broader discipline and applies equally to people living for years with advanced heart failure, COPD, neurological disease, kidney failure or dementia, not only to those with cancer.
Most palliative care is generalist care delivered by the patient's usual team in their own home, a care home or a hospital ward. Specialist palliative care teams, based in hospices, hospitals and community services, are involved for more complex needs. Effective delivery depends heavily on shared records and reliable out-of-hours access to plans, which is why interoperable digital care records matter so much in this setting.
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