Palliative care

What is palliative care?

According to the WHO definition, "Palliative Care is a way of improving the quality of life of patients and families facing life-threatening illness, by preventing and relieving suffering through early diagnosis, appropriate assessment and timely treatment of pain and other physical, psychosocial and/or spiritual problems".

We consider palliative care to be an essential component of healthcare based on the concepts of dignity, autonomy and patient rights. It guarantees adequate continuity of care from the identification of symptoms that are difficult to control at the beginning of the diagnosis to end-of-life support, including bereavement support for relatives. It promotes a comprehensive and coordinated response from the healthcare system, adjusted to the needs of each case, and respecting each patient’s autonomy and values. Patient care is personalised, focused and tailored to the patient’s needs, values, wishes and preferences.

Scope of application of palliative care

Made up of nurses, doctors, psychologists, social workers and, on occasions, spiritual care teams, the palliative care team at Quirónsalud works in a multidisciplinary way to offer patients everything they need to feel better and mitigate their suffering, from multiple spheres:

• Symptomatic sphere: drugs are prescribed according to the patient’s symptoms and situation.
• Nutritional sphere: enables the patient to adapt their diet to their condition.
• Emotional sphere: psychological therapy is essential to accept the physical changes and the illness, both for the patient and their loved ones.
• Spiritual sphere: talking to a spiritual care team, at the patient’s request, can improve their adjustment to the new situation and help the practitioner to understand the needs of both the patient and the family.
• Administrative sphere: helping relatives to deal with legal issues arising from the illness, and the death of the patient.

In addition, at Quirónsalud we are committed to promoting social projects, such as family schools to guide and accompany caregivers of patients with palliative needs, and workshops in schools to raise awareness about end-of-life care.

Techniques, procedures and diagnostic methods

The methods and procedures we use in palliative care are the same as in all other specialities. The difference lies in their suitability to the patient’s situation and needs. They range from non-pharmacological to pharmacological therapies. Some of the most frequent are:

• Medication: drugs are prescribed according to the patient’s symptoms and situation.
• Psycho-behavioural approach.
• Physiotherapy: helps reduce certain symptoms and promotes physical activity during the illness.
• Occupational therapy: promotes the patient’s autonomy to the best of their ability in order to improve their self-esteem and reduce the burden on carers.
• Magnetotherapy: treatment using magnetic fields that reduces inflammation, is vasodilatory, regenerates cells, has an anti-inflammatory effect and minimises pain.
• Step four of the analgesic ladder: interventional approach on behalf of the Pain Unit, including nerve blocks, dry needling, electrotherapy, etc.