Community palliative care services

Marie Curie has historically delivered end of life care primarily supporting individuals with cancer, although a small proportion of non-cancer patients also receive care under the existing contract for residents of Swansea and Neath Port Talbot aged 18+ years of age. Palliative and End of Life care is an active holistic care of patients with advance progressive illness. It prevents and relieves suffering through the early identification, correct assessment and treatment of pain and other problems whether physical, psychosocial, or spiritual. It is usual to consider this as the last year of life, during which time a patient will receive, management of pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social and spiritual support, Marie Curie plays a vital role in providing high quality support and interventions to patients and their families/carers within the last year of the patient’s life enabling patients to remain at home where appropriate, reducing avoidable hospital admissions, provides respite support , emotional support to reduce anxiety for patient/families/carers, improves outcomes and decreases symptom burden and supporting dignified palliative/end of life care in familiar surroundings.