Palliative Care / End of Life Care

The palliative care course is best run for either care staff or trained staff but not a mixed group as their needs are very different.

Course Structure:
includes the following:

• Communication skills
• Skin care
• Mouth care
• The importance of nutrition
• Simple ways they can help elevate symptoms/pain by positioning some of the common symptoms they might encounter

• The basics of loss and bereavement for the families and the patient
• Dealing with haemorrhages from fungating wounds
• Spiritual issues
• What they might see in the last 48hrs of life
• Dealing with their own feelings/staff support

For trained staff

· It is designed more for people who do not have a great deal of experience in this field or as just a refresher ... in one course you cant cover all aspects of palliative care as it is very diverse depending on the reason the patient needs palliative care.· It would include all of the above and the basics of pain /symptom control i.e. ways of doing this and some of the common drugs /treatments used.· The course deals with the basics of dealing with fungating wounds and malodorous wounds.

Both courses allow for people to discuss their own feelings/experiences of dealing with a life limiting illness.