Palliative Care

Dynavour knows that training is an issue and needs to be done to ensure that people have good care at the end of their lives, but......it’s the little things that can make the difference. The sitting reading the daily newspaper to someone, putting ice in a drink, sorting the pillows going the extra mile and buying strawberries as requested because they would like them in the middle of winter! Making the family a cup of tea and doing the ironing.

Our palliative care service believe that every person using our service has the right to die with dignity, without pain and in their own familiar surroundings supported by people they know and trust.

We believe that the quality of care which people who are dying receive in their last days is as important as the quality of life which they receive prior to this.

In addition:

• Individual patients have different needs at different phases of their illness, and Dynavour will be responsive to peoples’ needs.
• Families and carers need support during the patient’s life and in bereavement
• The central role of families and other carers in providing support to patients
• The importance of primary and community services, as patients spend most of their time living in the community
• The needs of some patients for a range of specialist services
• The importance of forging partnerships between patients and carers and health and social care professionals to achieve best outcomes
• The value of partnership in achieving effective multi-agency and multidisciplinary team working
• The value of patient and carer-led activities as an integral part of cancer care
• Service users’ value in planning services
• The importance of care for people dying from cancer
• The need for services to be ethnically and culturally sensitive, to take in to  account the needs of those whose preferred language is not English, and to be tailored to the needs of those with disabilities and communication difficulties
• The value of high quality information for patients and carers.

Feedback from family and friends

“Thank you for all your kind care during my husband’s illness. You were wonderful”

“The way they cared for my friend was very good and reassuring and much appreciated by the family. Not only did they look after my friend but were also concerned for his wife and did a lot unobtrusively to help her through difficult times”.

“I know their service was only brief but I was so glad the service was involved it made such a difference to the family”