What is palliative care?

The World Health Organization (2002) defines palliative care as “an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.”

About palliative care

Palliative care can help people of any age who are living with a serious illness. This includes heart, kidney, liver and lung disease, cancer, dementia and other neurological illnesses. It can be provided at any time following diagnosis with a serious illness. Palliative care can be received along with other treatments to cure or control a disease.

Palliative care may be provided by the existing health care team or support may be requested from palliative care specialists. The palliative care team may include doctors, nurses, social workers, physio- and occupational therapists, spiritual care providers, paramedics and other professionals, in addition to a person’s family and friends.

How to receive palliative care

Don't wait for others to bring it up. If you or someone you know could use additional support with a serious illness, talk to your/their primary care provider about how palliative care might help. Find out if palliative care is right for you.

You can also find palliative care services in your area.

Palliative care, hospice care and MAID - what's the difference?

Palliative care is care for someone with a serious illness that can be accessed in any setting – home, hospital, long-term care – and can be received along with other treatments. Palliative care provides treatment and support to achieve the best quality of life possible. Medications may be administered to manage symptoms but do not cause death.

Hospice care is 24-hour care provided at a specialized facility for people in the late stages of an illness.

Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is when a doctor or nurse practitioner administers medication to cause death. This can only be done if a person has asked for an assisted death and met all the eligibility criteria set out by federal law.

A person can receive palliative care while also considering or applying for MAID.

For more information, see Canadian Virtual Hospice’s Understanding Medical Assistance in Dying.