Palliative Care in the South

Sunshine Care provide End of Life Carers

You will probably feel some very strong emotions during the time your relative or friend is dying.  We will be there to support the whole family, under the guidance of any power of attorney.

You might feel that you want to try and change what is happening. Often all you can do is give your loved one a lot of emotional support during this difficult period.

We can provide specialist palliative home care support with the inevitable physical deterioration and loss of control.  By carrying out the essential home care tasks, your family will be free to make the most of your time together.

Any palliative care within the last 12 months of life is regarded as end of life care; but it is recognised that some people will benefit from palliative home care before this time.  This includes people whose death is imminent (expected within a few hours or days) and those with:

• Advanced, progressive, incurable conditions
• General frailty and coexisting conditions that mean they are expected to die within 12 months
• Existing conditions if they are at risk of dying from a sudden acute crisis in their condition
• Life-threatening acute conditions caused by sudden catastrophic events.

Palliative and End of Life Care

As palliative home care specialists, Sunshine Live in Care has always provided specific training and qualifications relating to end of life care. In our contracts with NHS Continuing Care we have provided our live in carers with the opportunity to acquire substantial practical experience in palliative home care.

Our carers are taught that the terminally ill person may not want to eat or drink anything. With palliative home care it is important that we do not force them to eat or drink. It is better to gently persuade than make the individual uncomfortable.  But mouth care is essential!  At the least, with refusal to drink, we will moisten their lips and mouth every 1 to 2 hours with water and lemon and glycerine swabs.

Pain is usually well-controlled by the health care professionals.  Our palliative home care service will discretely deal with any incontinence issues.

Please contact us to find out more about our palliative home care service.  Our friendly Sunshine team are available to speak confidentially with you every day of the year. Our advisors have all had personal experience in providing high quality palliative home care.

Palliative medicine is now a recognised medical specialty, requiring the equivalent of 4 years’ specialist training.  Palliative home care professionals, who frequently dedicate all or most of their time to the care of people approaching the end of life, include:

• Palliative medicine physicians
• Palliative home care specialist nurses, such as Marie Curie nurses
• Specialist allied health professionals
• Specialist social workers
• Counsellors and therapists

Sunshine Live in Carers will work in partnership with these health professionals to deliver the appropriate palliative home care to meet the needs of each individual soul. We work in in partnership with relatives, friends, and hospices to enable people to have a “good death”, in the comfort of their chosen place to die.

Not only the physical and emotional needs of service users must be met as they die; but also their spiritual or religious beliefs should be recognised.  Their wishes should be respected.  Their comfort and well-being should be attended to by appropriately trained palliative home care specialist carers.