As a relatively new live-in carer, or even before you start your caring career, one of the things you may fear the most is to be with a client who is receiving palliative care. This may simply be because you are afraid of how to handle the situation and all it brings. If you ask other live-in carers, most of them will agree that the death of a client is always a shock, even if it is expected.
The idea of palliative care is often wrongly thought of as caring for a client in the last stages of an illness, and you would be within your rights to decline this type of placement if you are not comfortable with the idea.
So, must you accept palliative care placements?
First, we should define palliative care. Palliative care means that a person is receiving care for an illness that cannot be cured. It will not go away, and they will eventually pass away from this disease.
Before you decline a palliative care placement, you should ask at what stage of the condition the client is. A point to remember is that palliative care can go on for several years and you may well find that your placement is not during the end stages, but rather when your client is still able to enjoy their life. Accepting a placement such as this will give you the chance to help make that person’s remaining life as pleasant as possible.
It is true that there are some placements which are at an advanced stage of palliative care and you may be asked to accept one of these. The choice is entirely up to you and your own mental state.
A great advantage in palliative care placements is that extra assistance has very likely already been set up and you will find you have support from several other people, including the district nurse and the doctor. You may even have other care workers coming in to help you with your client. The infrastructure may already be in place and you will have plenty of people with knowledge around you, should you have questions or concerns.
It is true that in a palliative care placement you may be the person who is with your client when they pass away, and the thought of this may scare you enough to refuse a palliative care placement.
If this is your case, then you may want to talk to other live-in carers who have been with their clients at the end of life. You will find that they agree it is a very humbling and privileged place to be, not the frightening picture you may have. Death is often very peaceful and quiet. Truly there is no other feeling than knowing you were holding a hand while they passed over that bridge.
To sum up
Palliative care can cover several years and there is never any guarantee that your client will last a week, a month or another year, so accepting or declining based on the stage may not guarantee that your client does not pass away.
Remember that almost all the placements a live-in carer goes to are with clients who are slowly (and sometimes not so slowly) getting older and passing away from an illness. Our work does not very often include clients who are young and fit. So, the very nature of live-in care works means that eventually one of your clients will pass away while you are with them, whether you expect it or not.
Accepting a palliative care placement may mean personal growth in yourself as well as developing a wonderful relationship with your client. When all is said and done, you will know deep inside that you did the best job you could have done, you have faced a situation that not everyone has, and you have helped your client to enjoy what time they had left.
Palliative care is not something to fear. On the contrary it is a privilege to be a part of something so sacred and humbling.
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