Palliative care focuses on relieving the suffering of patients from symptoms, pain and the mental stress of a serious illness. The Palliative Care Team supports the comfort and dignity of the person living with the illness and improves the quality of life for both the patient and family or caregivers.
The goal of palliative care is to:
• Identify symptoms early and provide relief to the patient
• Offer support for the psychological, social and spiritual needs of the patient and family/caregivers
• Offer assistance to make ethical decisions about the patients’ health care in the future
Who Provides Palliative Care in Hospital?
Many healthcare providers contribute to palliative care depending on the needs of the patient and family. This may include all members of your healthcare team including physicians, nurses, therapists as well as volunteers, spiritual care persons and other members of your community. A patient's Palliative Care Team works in partnership with each other, the patient, family and other important community resources to provide support and relief.
Community Palliative Care Groups
Also providing support to patients and families at their most vulnerable time along with timely access to fully integrated palliative care throughout Halton, are Community Palliative Care Physician Groups (CPCP). These groups have services across all three communities served by Halton Healthcare - Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills. Each of the dedicated CPCP Groups provide home-based care for patients with palliative and end-of-life care needs.
The three CPCP Groups in our Halton Healthcare communities are:
Halton Hills Community Palliative Care Physician Group
Milton Community Palliative Care Physician Group
Oakville Community Palliative Care Physician Group
Where is Palliative Care Provided at Halton Healthcare?
Palliative care is provided at all three of our hospitals located in Georgetown, Milton and Oakville. Halton Healthcare provides designated palliative care beds in the Complex Transitional Care Units located in all three hospitals.
Palliative Care Resources
There are many great resources and community supports available for palliative care which are listed below: