Getting the most from your local palliative care service

Palliative care needs to address physical symptoms and psychosocial issues for the dying patient, maximise quality of life and assist family and carers. The development of specialised palliative care services has assisted in striving toward this goal.

To outline the role of palliative care services and the ways general practitioners can engage with them to optimise patient care and enhance support for carers, family and the GP.

General practitioners have a vital role to play in the care of the dying patient because of their long term relationship with the patient and the family, their ability to deal with medical problems and their knowledge of the community and its resources. However, no one individual can meet the needs associated with palliative care and the team approach of the palliative care service can bring a wide variety of skills and experience to problems encountered.