Who provides palliative care?
Palliative care is provided by two distinct categories of health and social care professionals: • Those providing the day-to-day care to patients and carers in their homes and in hospitals • Those who specialise in palliative care (consultants in palliative medicine and clinical nurse specialists in palliative care, for example) Those providing day-to-day care should be able to: • Assess the care needs of each patient and their families across the domains of physical, psychological, social spiritual and information needs • Meet those needs within the limits of their knowledge, skills, competence in palliative care • Know when to seek advice from or refer to specialist palliative care services
