Description
Palliative Care has been defined by the World Health Organisation as ‘The active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment. Control of pain, of other symptoms, and of psychological, social and spiritual problems is paramount. The goal of palliative care is achievement of the best quality of life for patients and their families.’ In the United Kingdom, approximately 75% of all deaths now occur in hospital, reflecting a shift away from home deaths over the last 50 years. In that time medical and technological advances have resulted in prolonged survival for many life-threatening conditions, and raised expectations amongst healthcare professionals, patients and the public of the outcomes of interventions at the end of life. Whilst it is simplistic to view these changes as a shift from ‘care’ to ‘cure’, the increasing ‘medicalisation’ of death may lead to conflicts in negotiating appropriate outcomes for individual patients.
