Palliative care has been defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing problems associated with serious illness. This is achieved by the prevention and relief of suffering through early identification, assessment and treatment of pain and other problems. Other problems faced by the patient and their family can be physical, psychosocial and spiritual.
The Department of Palliative Medicine at The Royal Marsden Hospital provides care for patients at all stages of their disease by means of an outpatient service, an inpatient support team and an inpatient specialist unit. Patients may be referred to the department of Palliative Medicine by any member of the multidisciplinary oncology team looking after them.
Referrals are generally made for advice/assessment in the following areas:
- Control of pain
- Control of other symptoms
- Emotional/psychological support
- Emotional/psychological support for relatives
- Arranging ongoing community support
- End of life care.
The Royal Marsden has two specialist palliative care wards: Horder Ward in London and Chevallier ward in Surrey. The staff in these wards are fully trained and experienced in palliative care and there is a large multidisciplinary team to support the medical and nursing staff. These include physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers and chaplains.
There is also a hospital support team which provides advice and practical support to patients on other wards. The philosophy of the department of Palliative Medicine is to provide the best possible care for patients in keeping with the principles set out by the World Health Organisation.