Changes needed to Palliative care today - Thesis Example

She recommended that the palliative care component and appropriate standards be included in the needs assessment and in the contracts for hospitals and community services. According to Morrow (2009) the aim of palliative care is to improve the quality of the life of patients and their families who faces a life-threatening illness. Its focus is to alleviate them through prevention and the treatment of suffering. Palliative care involves the self (physical, emotional, spiritual) of the patient as well as their families.

This care provides relief from pain and other symptoms related to the illness (fatigue, nausea, shortness of breath, loss of appetite). The aim is to prevent and relieve these symptoms so that the patient may continue with his or her daily life. Hospice care is one form of palliative care. The palliative care may be offered at any given time of an illness with curative therapies which are meant to prolong life versus hospice care, designed for patients that have a terminal illness and the life expectancy is of six months or less (Morrow, 2009).

The palliative team is composed of doctors treating different conditions (diabetes, heart diseases, kidney disease). The palliative care doctor will generally orchestrate the care between several specialists to create a perfect harmony. The palliative care team may include: Palliative care physicians; specialists or general practitioners; nurses; nursing assistants or home health aides; social workers; chaplains; physical, occupational, and speech therapists. This team may assist in the health care choices that may be right for the patients (Morrow, 2009).

The palliative care may be given in hospitals (chemotherapy, radiation) or at home. The subacute team is similar in its composition, except that they include: in-house medical staff, registered nurses and certified nurse aides, dietary, therapeutic recreation specialist, and an