Creating a Comforting Environment for Palliative Care At Home

Palliative care is a caregiving approach for people living with a life-limiting (terminal) illness. The term is often used interchangeably with ‘end-of-life’ care, and while it’s true that palliative care can be given at the end of a person’s life, palliative care doesn’t always mean that person is likely to die soon. Palliative care at home can also be given alongside other therapies that are aimed at treating your condition or prolonging your life.

Palliative care aims to improve a person’s quality of life so that they’re able to enjoy the time they have in comfort.

What Equipment is Needed For Palliative Care at Home?

The equipment needed for palliative care at home will depend on the person’s individual needs and preferences. Some people receiving palliative or end-of-life care at home may not need very much in the way of specialist equipment, whereas others living with more complex conditions or mobility issues might require specific equipment to allow them to receive palliative care at home.

Here’s a list of some equipment you may want to consider:

• An adjustable (profiling) bed

• A bedside commode or toilet frame

• Bed rail/s

• A personal alarm, call bell or falls alarm

• Grab rails/grab bars

• Equipment for washing and dressing, for example, a shower chair, bath chair or a basin

• Mobility aids, such as a walking frame, walking sticks or wheelchair

• Continence products such as pads, wipes, bedpans and urinals

• Plenty of pillows, blankets, fresh bedding and towels

How to Create a Comfortable Environment For Palliative Care At Home

If your loved one is going to be receiving palliative care at home, it’s important to tailor the environment to keep them comfortable, whilst still being practical for their day-to-day care needs.

The Bed

People with life-limiting conditions may spend a large portion of time in bed so a key consideration when receiving palliative care at home is the bed and where it should be positioned.

You may want to consider having a hospital bed (also called a profiling bed or adjustable bed) rather than a standard single or double bed. This can offer many benefits, including the ability to move the bed higher or lower to make care easier, and being able to easily adjust your position for comfort. An air mattress can also be used in conjunction with a profiling bed, to help prevent pressure sores.

Another important consideration is where the bed should be positioned. You’ll need room on both sides to allow access for carers. If space is an issue or the stairs in your home are becoming an issue, you might think about creating a temporary bedroom on the ground floor instead.

Toileting and Personal Care

Palliative care is about providing the person with as much independence and dignity as possible, and this includes toileting needs and personal care.

If a person is fully continent, there is no reason why they can’t continue to use the bathroom in the usual way, and the use of mobility aids, such as a walking frame, or grab handles can provide reassurance and reduce the risk of falls. Alternatively, if mobility is an issue or the bathroom is on another level of the house, you might want to consider a bedside commode.

Think about washing and dressing and how this can be made easier for everyone involved, perhaps by using a bath chair or shower chair or by using a basin to wash in bed.

Falls Prevention

Falls are more likely in people receiving palliative for a variety of reasons, including frailty and disorientation from medications, for example. Falls can also significantly impact a person’s quality of life and lead to hospital admissions, which can be very distressing both for the individual and their family.

Falls prevention is therefore a key factor in creating a comforting environment for palliative care at home. Taking the time to reduce or remove falls risks in the home not only protects the person receiving palliative care but also their carers and visitors.

When setting up for palliative care at home, you should remove as much clutter as possible, particularly from walkways and improve visibility by adding in lamps or brighter bulbs. Check that carpets are firmly attached on staircases and move rugs, which present a major trip hazard. Tidy away trailing wires and cables, and consider where any specialist equipment such as profiling beds or IV pumps can be plugged in.

Be mindful of pets, especially cats and smaller dogs. It can be wonderful to have furry companions nearby, but when personal care is being provided or medication administered, it’s a good idea to put pets into a different room to prevent them from getting underfoot.

Home Comforts and Personal Touches

One of the nicest things about palliative care at home is being surrounded by your home comforts and all the things that matter most to you. So when creating a comforting environment for palliative care at home, take into account the personality of your loved one, and what they value most.

Some things to consider when setting up the home are:

• What can the person see from their bed? Can you angle the bed so they can see the view from a window, or perhaps hang family photographs or artwork nearby?

• Can they reach everything they need? An over-bed table or tray allows them to keep their essentials or comfort items easily at hand.

• What about entertainment? Can you set up the room so that they can watch TV, listen to music, read or be read to?

• Is the room warm/cool enough? Can the temperature be easily adjusted by a fan or heater?

• Can the lighting be easily altered to allow for brighter light during care or dimmer when the person wants to rest or sleep?

Visitors

Unlike hospitals that often have restricted visiting times, with home palliative care, loved ones can visit whenever and as often as they like. However, there are still a couple of important factors to consider, such as where visitors will sit and if there’s ample space near the bed.

You could also time visits to take into consideration the person’s usual routine, for example, their daily hygiene needs, mealtime and any medications that might make them drowsy.

Organisation

Good organisation makes it easier to stay on top of everything when your loved one is receiving palliative care at home. You might want to keep a folder or file to store all the relevant information in one place. This might include medical documents, details of medications, such as timings, doses and prescriptions, as well as who to contact if symptoms change or worsen.

As well as making day-to-day life more comfortable for your loved one at home, you may also want to get organised in other ways. For example, to provide peace of mind and ensure that your loved ones’ remaining time is stress-free, you should consider having a discussion about Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney if you haven’t already done so.

If you have financial concerns, it may be worth finding out about financial support that you may be entitled to, such as Attendance Allowance.

Your Care Team

A vital aspect of creating a comfortable environment for palliative care is your home care team. Receiving a terminal diagnosis or being told that you’re nearing the end of life, can, understandably, be a challenging and emotional time for everyone involved but having carers you trust and feel comfortable with can make all the difference.

When it comes to receiving palliative care at home, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, and care can be tailored to your specific requirements as your condition and needs change.

Palliative Care at Home From Red Rose Care

Here at Red Rose Care, we pride ourselves on providing dignified and fully-tailored palliative care at home. This can include all types of care including personal care, domestic care, companionship, overnight care and live-in care.

We understand that the need for palliative care can be distressing for many people and that you may have questions and concerns. Rest assured that we do all that we can to improve quality of life whilst supporting families through what can be a difficult and uncertain time.

If you want to find out more about the services we offer, and how we can help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch or call 01772 963 740 for a friendly chat with one of the Red Rose Care team.