Survey reveals majority ready to discuss palliative care with health professional

Research carried out on behalf of the All Ireland Institute for Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) has shown that seven in ten people believe that if palliative care could help them they would like a health care professional to discuss it with them.

In this, Palliative Care Week (9 to 15 September 2018), an AIIHPC survey aimed to gain an understanding of what people across the country think about palliative care.

Karen Charnley, AIIHPC Director, said: “Our survey shows that many people would like to begin a conversation about a topic often considered too difficult and too frightening to discuss, the reality of living with a life-limiting illness. Our theme for Palliative Care Week 2018 is ‘Palliative Care, Because Every Moment Matters’. Whether you are a member of the public or a health and social care professional, we encourage everyone to discuss how palliative care could help.”

The survey also shows that eight in ten people believe palliative care should be considered as early as possible when diagnosed with a life-limiting illness.

Palliative care focuses on helping a person, of any age, with any life-limiting illness, to achieve the best quality of life. It involves the management of pain and other symptoms and provides support for social, emotional and spiritual needs.

Richard Pengelly, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health, formally launched the Palliative Care Week campaign at an event in Belfast City Hall on Monday 10 September.

Mr Pengelly (pictured) said: “Increasing awareness and understanding of palliative care and addressing the misconceptions that many people hold about it is extremely important. Doing so means we can help ensure that people living with a life-limiting condition receive the care and support they need to live well and have the best quality of life. As a society we also need to be more open in talking about dying, death and bereavement.”

Speaking ahead of the Palliative Care Week launch in Belfast, and a simultaneous launch in Dublin for this all-island campaign, Ms Charnley said: “Our survey shows that people are willing to talk about palliative care; about what matters to them, and to receive help to give them a better quality of life. Palliative care is for people of all ages with a life-limiting condition such as motor neurone disease, MS, dementia, advanced kidney disease or advanced lung disease, as well as advanced cancer and heart disease.”

The Palliative Care Week campaign coincides with the launch of personal video stories of people who have benefitted from palliative care.

Lynne Armstrong, from Belfast, is among those who have spoken about the benefits of palliative care. Lynne, who is living with Multiple Sclerosis, said: “A palliative approach is really looking at the whole person and not just looking at everything in isolation. When I thought about it, I realised that I actually have been receiving a degree of palliative care for a long number of years but I never thought of it like that. I have the MS consultant, the MS nurse, who were dealing with me medically as well as my own GP. Physically I’ve got the neuro physio at the MS Society and emotionally we have excellent counsellors at the MS Society.”

Corrina Grimes, Allied Health Professions Consultant and Regional Palliative Care Clinical Lead at the Public Health Agency, said: “It is important that people living with serious and progressive conditions are supported, to help them achieve the best quality of life, whether through addressing pain, fatigue, and loss of function or distress, when facing life-limiting illness. It is encouraging to know that people want to discuss palliative care with their health and social care professionals to look at how best to achieve this.

“As well as the ongoing delivery of palliative care, the regional palliative care programme – Palliative Care in Partnership – is supporting health and social care professionals to be skilled in listening to and supporting people with serious and progressive conditions, so people can discuss what really matters to them.”

_{Picture (c) Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety Northern Ireland / PA Wire.}