Life-limiting illness is a term used to describe an incurable condition that can shorten a person’s life, though they may continue to live active lives for many years. There is a wide range of life-limiting illnesses, including heart failure, lung disease, neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s, Dementia and Multiple Sclerosis, and cancer that is no longer responding to treatment intended to cure.
Terminal illness is used to describe a life-limiting illness that is thought to have progressed to the final or terminal stage. There is no precise definition for this terminal stage, but it is typically used for a person considered to be within the last 12 months of life. Of course, it is not always possible to know when a person has reached this stage, or how much more time they have left as there can be difference in presentation of conditions and individual needs.
End of life care is support for people who are considered to be in the last 12 months of life. It helps people to live as well as possible until they die, and to die with dignity. It also includes support for their family or carers. End of life care includes palliative care.
Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of people faced with the challenges of living with a life-limiting illness. It focuses on the individual’s comfort and takes into account the emotional, physical and spiritual needs and goals of the person being cared for. Palliative care is open to all and aims to meet the needs of people from all cultures and communities, and extends beyond the person to supporting their family and close friends. It is provided by all clinicians involved in a person’s care, in particular GPs and nursing teams within the community.
Specialist palliative care encompasses hospice care (including Inpatient services, Therapy Services, Wellbeing Hub, Clinical Nurse Specialists and Hospice at Home) as well as a range of other specialist advice, support and care such as that provided by hospital palliative care teams. It may also include supporting you emotionally, psychologically, practically, socially and spiritually. Specialist palliative care is available when a person’s physical, emotional, social or spiritual needs are very complex. For example, people whose symptoms cannot be managed in a timely way by their usual care team, including their GP, nurse or hospital consultant.
Advance Care Planning (ACP) and Preferred Priorities for Care (PPC) are ways of making people aware of what is important to you and your wishes. By recording your preferences, it will help to make sure that your wishes are taken into account. It means they can also be considered if you become too unwell to tell anyone. This would include your loved ones as well as health and social care professionals. This is voluntary, so you can change your mind and update them at any time.
Service user is a term for people who use our services as patients or as carers/families. We use the term service user in general, but use the term patient where it is most appropriate.
Clinician is a healthcare professional, such as a doctor, nurse or physiotherapist, involved in clinical practice.
DNACPR is an abbreviation of ‘Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation’. You may also hear ‘Do Not Resuscitate’, DNR or DNAR, which mean the same thing. These advance management plans document decisions in healthcare settings to support a natural death to be achieved when a person’s heart stops.
