Palliative Care
The goal of palliative care is to achieve the best quality of life for patients and their families.
At the heart of palliative care is the belief that there is always something that can be done to improve things.
Most people receiving palliative care are patients suffering from advanced cancer. However, there are many people with conditions that do not have the often-short life expectancy of these patients who could also benefit from a palliative approach to their care.
These conditions include;
* Neurological diseases
* Respiratory diseases
* Cardiac diseases
* HIV/AIDS.
Most people who need palliative care are cared for at home for long periods of time.
Find out more below.

Doctors and Nurses
General practitioners (Family doctors) often see palliative care as an important part of their work.
You may see many specialists during the course of your illness but when living at home it is your family doctor who remains in charge of your care.
If you need other services such as a District Nurse, a Macmillan Nurse, or a Home Help then your family doctor can refer you to them.
District nurses provide highly skilled nursing care, practical advice and support to patients and carers in their own homes.
This nursing care is provided to patients with chronic diseases and related needs including
· Multiple Sclerosis
· Heart Failure
· Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
· Post Hospital Discharge after surgery
· Mental Health Illness (Dementia)
· Care of the Elderly
· Palliative Care
After an assessment visit, you may meet a number of District Nurses. They will all know and understand your needs.
You will be given a care plan that will agree the care required along with an information sheet, which will list
· your named nurse and associate nurses,
· a contact phone number
· an out of hours phone number
The District Nursing Team is in an ideal position to provide excellent palliative care.
They work closely with other professionals to plan a full package of care to meet your individual needs.
Coping with a life threatening illness brings with it many problems and being able to talk this over with your nurse can be helpful.
The District Nurse can listen, support and assist you at this difficult time.

Rehabilitation
Many more people with life threatening conditions are now living for longer with their illnesses. This includes people with cancer.
Although they are not always going to be cured, rehabilitation plays a vital part in enhancing the quality of their lives.
It can help people adapt to their condition and improve physical function and independence.
It can help people achieve physical, social and emotional goals.
It can give back a sense of control. It does so against a background of helping people face change and loss.
Rehabilitation staff include:Dietitian; Occupational Therapist; Physiotherapist; Speech and Language Therapist

They care for people
* in hospitals
* at home
* in social work centres
* in hospices

Hospices and Hospitals

Hospices are units where the staff are familiar with the problems faced by people with advanced illness. Many staff have had specialist training in the management of these problems.

These are Glasgow's three hospices.
* St. Margaret's Hospice Clydebank
* Huntershill Marie Curie Centre
* Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice

Glasgow's hospitals all provide palliative care to their patients.
* Beatson Oncology Centre
* Glasgow Royal Infirmary
* Stobhill Hospital
* Southern General Hospital
* Victoria Infirmary
* Western Infirmary
* Gartnavel General Hospital
* Yorkhill Royal Hospital for Sick Children
Many staff have had training in palliative care. Palliative Care teams are now in place at each of Glasgow's hospitals. Nursing and medical staff with specialist training are often available.

If you wish to know more about Palliative Care,
* speak to one of the health professionals involved with your care
* click on the links below
* contact info@palliativecareglasgow.info The network team will try and point you towards other sources of help

This website
This site should give everyone the information they need whether it is for a personal or a professional reason.
However, it is not a substitute for professional care.
If you are concerned about a specific symptom or situation you should always discuss this with your doctor or nurse.
If there is something missing from the site then let us know. You can help us add that information or correct it if it is wrong.
This site is funded through the New Opportunities Fund and administered by North Glasgow University Hospitals Division and Greater Glasgow NHS Board.
As well as our work on this website we have also placed computers in a number of health care locations around Glasgow including Network House in Govanhill.
They have agreed to make a computer available to the public so that they can use the Internet to find out about palliative care even if they do not have a computer at home.
Internet access is also available in Glasgow's libraries.
We also plan to lend patients and their families a computer as part of our research into people' s needs for information.
If you would like to know more about this or any other aspect of our work please contact us.