Hospice Palliative & End-of-Life Care

Hospice palliative care, also called end-of-life care, includes a range of services for dying people of all ages, including children, and their families.

Quality End-of-Life care supports palliative clients, their families and caregivers before, during and after death, and addresses aspects of the illness and death experience that are:

• physical
• emotional
• spiritual
• psychological
• practical

Our focus is on comfort rather than curing an illness, to give people the best possible quality of life.  

Philosophy of Care

Our focus is on comfort rather than curing an illness. We try to ease symptoms and suffering for those living with a life-limiting illness. We foster compassion, comfort and dignity to give dying people and their families the best quality of life.

Hospice Palliative Care:

• does not hasten or delay death
• recognizes death as a natural part of life
• focuses on comfort rather than cure
• improves quality of life by offering comfort and dignity
• offers comfort, emotional and spiritual supports to the person and family
• allows people to continue receiving treatments that slow the progress of the disease and reduces uncomfortable symptoms

Your hospice palliative care team includes:

• you and your family
• your physician
• volunteers
• social workers and counsellors
• nurses
• pharmacists
• spiritual care consultant
• Palliative Care Physicians and Palliative Care Nurse Consultants
• personal care workers and others as needed

You and your family are important members of this care team.  There will be choices to make about future health decisions such as where you want to spend your final days and what treatments and comfort measures you wish to have or not have. 

Making future health decisions is an important step in identifying your choices and stating your wishes. Through a process of Advance Care Planning or writing advance directives, your care team can be informed of your choices for care and comfort.