The term End of life care is used to describe the period when people enter the palliative phase of an illness. This is usually when curative treatment is no longer possible and/or the disease has reached a point where treatments are used to manage symptoms and maintain quality of life.
End of life care has been defined as:
‘care that helps all those with advanced, progressive, incurable illness to live as well
as possible until they die.
It enables the supportive and palliative care needs of both patient and family to be identified
and met throughout the last phase of life and into bereavement. It includes management of
pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social, spiritual and practical
support.’
Source: National Council for Palliative Care 2006
