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What is Palliative Care?

Palliative care enhances the quality of life of people who have a life-limiting illness. It does this by preventing and relieving suffering. 

In addition to helping the patient, palliative care helps a family cope during their loved one's illness and death, and during the grief process.

Many people think palliative care is only provided in the last weeks and months of life when curative treatments are no longer available. A palliative approach to care can help people early in their illness. It can start at diagnosis, when treatments are taking place and there may still be many months and years left to live.

Palliative care may include:

• Help with decisions about treatments
• Expert medical care to help with pain and other symptoms at home or in hospital
• Social, psychological, emotional, and spiritual support
• Occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and social work
• Support for family, friends, and caregivers
• Information about financial, legal, and other services
• Including (but not exclusive to) end-of-life care
• Bereavement support

Palliative care is not necessarily provided by a team that only becomes involved at the end of your life. It is ideally provided by the people who know patients the most, working together with experts when they are needed.

The palliative care team may include a wide variety of health care professionals. The team can be as big as the needs of the person as they work collectively towards meeting personalized goals.

How do I access palliative care services?

Speak to your primary care provider about the benefits of pursuing a palliative approach to care.

Family physicians, nurse practitioners, as well as other frontline care providers (including care coordinators, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and spiritual care providers) all play a role in providing palliative care.

These providers can access support from a palliative care team, providers who specialize in complex care planning and symptom management. Their support can complement the care that patients receive from their primary care provider and other members of the care team but is not meant to replace it. 

Location and Contact Information

Partners in Care

Strong collaborative relationships with partners in the community help provide patients and families with a variety of resources that support care outside of the hospital.

• New Brunswick Extramural Program
• Local hospices:
  • Moncton Area - Maison Albert House
  • Saint John Area - Bobby's Hospice
  • Fredericton Area - Hospice House
  • Miramichi Area - Hospice Miramichi

Resources for Patients and Families

Child and Teen Grief

Compassionate Care Benefit

Difficult Grief and multiple Losses

Grief: A Personal Journey

Grief: Coping with Challenges

Grief: Special Days and Holidays

Grief: Understanding your Emotions

Palliative Care Patient Guide

Preparing for the Death of a Loved One