Palliative Care

• Non-malignant chronic conditions–such as breathlessness, fatigue, anorexia, or nausea
• End of life stages
• Patients and relatives grief and loss

• Emotional and psychological support–for patients and their relatives
• End of life care/ Terminal care-Arrangement of family meetings to facilitate communication and planning
• Coordination with other healthcare providers–including specialist community palliative care teams, outpatient and day hospice services, and inpatient hospice units
• Bon Secours Cork Cancer Centre (BSCCC) --–palliative care is incorporated as a key component of patient services
• Our palliative care service offers support and advice to the primary care consultant, primary care team and helps families to cope during and after the patient’s illness
• Control of pain
• Emotional / Psychological support for patients
• Emotional / Psychological support for relatives

The specialist palliative care team at the Bon Secours Hospital Dublin includes a consultant in palliative medicine – Dr Liam O Siorain, and a clinical nurse specialist in palliative care - Geraldine Nolan.

The team works alongside existing hospital teams in an advisory and supportive capacity. We are available three days a week to see inpatients on a shared care basis and day oncology patients on a consulting basis. The consultant also shares in the oncology consultant weekend on-call rota.

The aim is to provide a comprehensive, holistic, and integrated service to all patients and their families.

What we do:

• The provision of palliative care is not dependent on prognosis and can be offered at the same time as curative treatments. This can help the patient to maximise the benefits of treatments and live as well as possible with the effects of the disease.
• The goal of care is to promote quality of life throughout the illness journey and enable well-being through the relief of suffering/distress.
• Once referred, patients are seen by the consultant and/or nurse on a shared care basis for continued assessment, evaluation and management of their symptoms until discharge with a plan of follow-up review in place.
• Family meetings are usually arranged to facilitate open communication between the patient, family and the team in order to provide information, discuss wishes/concerns and plan for discharge or place of care for end of life.
• Arrange referrals to:

             a) Specialist community palliative care services are available for ongoing support in the patient's own home.

             b) Outpatient and Day Hospice service, Therapeutic programme services

             c) The inpatient hospice admission unit is used for symptom control or terminal care.

• Liaise with the general practitioners (GPs), primary health care providers, public health nurses, community home care teams and pharmacies, ensuring continuity of care.
• Supporting patients at the end of their lives is an important part of our services here at Bon Secours Hospital, Dublin, and we are committed to ensuring exceptional person-centred care at this time. Enabling a comfortable, dignified death for our patients while supporting our families in their grief.
• End-of-life care is the term used to describe care that is provided during the period when death appears to be imminent, and life expectancy appears to be limited to a short number of hours or days.