Successful palliative care requires attention to all aspects of a patient’s suffering, which requires input or assistance from a range of medical, nursing and allied health personnel—a multidisciplinary approach.
Established palliative care services work as a multidisciplinary or interprofessional team
- → multidisciplinary is the term that used to be applied to palliative care teams, but if the individuals work independently and there are no regular team meetings, patient care may become fragmented and conflicting information given to patients and families
- → interprofessional is the term now used for teams that meet on a regular basis to discuss patient care and develop a unified plan of management for each patient, and provide support for other members of the team
- → where palliative care services have not yet been established, it is important for the few professionals providing such care to work as a team, meeting regularly, planning and reviewing care, and supporting each other
The patient may be considered a "member" of the team (although they do not participate in team meetings), as all treatment must be with their consent and in accordance with their wishes
The members of the patient’s family can be considered "members", as they have an important role in the patient’s overall care and their opinions should be included when formulating a plan of management
Volunteers play an important role in many palliative care services
The ideal multidisciplinary team requires
- → medical staff
- → nursing staff
- → social worker
- → physiotherapist
- → occupational therapist
- → chaplain or pastoral care worker
Very useful, but not essential, are
- → dietician
- → psychologist (or liaison psychiatrist)
- → clinical pharmacist
- → music and art therapists
- → volunteers
- → other personnel, as required
Source:
The IAHPC Manual of Palliative Care 3rd Edition
https://hospicecare.com/what-we-do/publications/manual-of-palliative-care/
