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What is palliative care?
Palliative care is the holistic care of patients with advanced progressive illness. The aim of palliative care is to achieve the best quality of life for patients and their families.
What role does physiotherapy play in palliative care?
This area of physiotherapy aims to provide a comprehensive service of assessment and treatment for patients with advanced, progressive, incurable illness. Physiotherapy can help patients improve or maintain their physical functioning and independence and gain relief from distressing symptoms. The overall aim is to enhance someone’s quality of life and support them to stay in their favoured place of care.
The palliative care physiotherapy team comprises one part of the specialist palliative care service, directly in conjunction with the Macmillan clinical nurse specialists and palliative care medical team.
Above: Improving lung function and exercise tolerance through exercise supervised by a specilaist physiotherapistWho do palliative care physiotherapists receive referrals from?
Palliative care physiotherapists receive referrals from:
- General Practitioners
- Consultants
- Other health care professionals
- Social service professionals
- Carers
- Patients themselves
Summary
Palliative care is the care of patients with advanced progressive illness. Physiotherapy can help patients improve or maintain their physical functioning and independence. Physiotherapists are well placed to encourage patients in developing a positive approach to living with illness and/or the effects of treatment and in doing so, impacting positively on well-being and quality of life.
If you think that you, or someone you know, would benefit from the interventions of a Physiotherapist for an advanced progressive illness, please call Physio.co.uk today on 0330 088 7800 to arrange an appointment.You can also book appointments online using our online booking system
