Palliative Care Unit

Palliative care is a type of supportive care. It is a field of medicine that cannot fully recover due to their illness or aims to help patients who need support during the last period of their lives. Palliative care is activated in cases where the treatment aimed at curing the disease does not reach its goal and aims to improve the quality of life with interventions aimed at the patient's complaints.

The aim is not to add years to the life of the patient, but to provide quality life. Every patient has the right to spend their final days in good quality and peace; therefore palliative care is important in this period of the patient.

Communication with patients and their relatives, one-on-one teaching of treatment and care to their relatives, accepting death as a natural process while supporting life, respecting the decisions and wishes of the patient, and, providing support to the family during the mourning process is among the basic approaches of palliative care.

Who Needs Palliative Care?

Cancer, neurological diseases (stroke, dementia, muscle diseases, etc.), advanced organ deficiencies, patients with COPD, patients who need nutritional support for this reason, whose nutrition is impaired, patients who are dependent on the bed with an open wound are served. Care focused on eliminating the patient's suffering and improving the quality of life is provided.

What Interventions Does Palliative Care Use?

• Relieving physical symptoms such as pain control, nausea-vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, loss of appetite
• Controlling and alleviating psychological symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, depression
• Providing nutritional support
• Reduction of respiratory complaints
• Providing psychological and social support to patients and their relatives
• Training of patients and their relatives

Ufuk University Dr. Ridvan Ege Hospital Palliative Care Clinic started to accept patients as of February 2018. In the management of five faculty members, including departments of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Neurology, Chest Diseases, Psychiatry and Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, two specialist psychologists, one social worker, are, it is tried to best serve patients and their relatives who require palliative care with two dietitians and specially trained nurses for palliative care.