The Palliative Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

The Palliative Care - Essay Example Palliative care may be achieved by offering psychological, physical, and spiritual relief for the patient. In the United Kingdom, palliative care services are not only applied to the end of life patients but are also increasingly widely used in the management of incurable diseases alongside other medical procedures such as diagnosis and treatment. This is particularly attributed to the growing empirical evidence suggesting that the cost –efficacy of palliative care significantly outweighs attempts at disease cure, with regard to quality of life for both the patient and the family. The provision of palliative care is often affected by a number of external influences such as pathways, government policies and agendas and hospice availability as well as internal influences some of which may include psychological and physical aspects of the patients or their families. Other internal factors may also include the knowledge of the caregivers regarding the principles and practices of palliative care, attitudes of the caregiver on life and death and support from relatives and family members. This paper is based on a case study of Mrs. Janet, an end of life cancer patient who was admitted in a hospital in the United Kingdom 28 years after her initial diagnosis of cervical cancer (see Appendix A). The case study analysis attempts to highlight some of the potential external influences that may have directly influenced her end-of-life care, as well as the strategies applied by concerned practitioners in facilitating the delivery of palliative care services of the required quality. In addition, the present case analysis also seeks to critically evaluate the variable factors, including the social, physical, and psychological factors, together with their respective impacts on the experience of the client in relation to the provided palliative care. There exist a diverse number of factors that influence the end-of-life palliative care provided to patients with life-limiting health conditions. In the case study, Mrs. Janet’s end of life care is likely to be directly influenced by external factors such as such as cultural factors, care pathways, government policies and agendas and hospice availability.