The types of palliative care
Palliative care offers more than clinical support - it focuses on the whole person, addressing physical symptoms as well as emotional and spiritual needs. At a time when comfort, dignity and reassurance matter most, this compassionate form of care ensures individuals receive tailored support that reflects their unique wishes, values, and circumstances.
At Consultus Care and Nursing, we believe life is better at home. For over 60 years we’ve provided compassionate, one-to-one care helping more people across the country to remain in the safety and comfort of their own home.
What is palliative care?
Palliative care is a type of support designed for people living with a serious or life-limiting illness. It aims to improve quality of life by managing pain and symptoms, offering emotional and psychological support, and helping individuals and families make informed choices about care and treatment.
Importantly, palliative care is not limited to the final days or weeks of life - it can be introduced at any stage of an illness and can often be started alongside other treatments
The three types of palliative care
Palliative care is holistic, not only focusing on managing physical symptoms but also on supporting the individual from an emotional and spiritual perspective. Each of these aspects is just as important as the next, and care should be thoughtfully tailored to reflect a person’s unique needs and preferences.
Physical care
This aspect of palliative care is focused on relieving the physical symptoms that can accompany serious illness. These may include pain, nausea, fatigue, constipation, breathlessness, and other distressing side effects related to the condition of its treatment.
Healthcare professionals work closely with individuals and their families to create a personalised symptom management plan. This could involve medications, physiotherapy, or complementary therapies such as massage or acupuncture. The goal is to enhance comfort, mobility, and independence, ensuring daily life is as manageable and as pain free as possible. These details would also be included in any nursing care plan or end-of-life care plan drawn up to support the management of care for an individual.
Emotional support
Emotional wellbeing plays a vital role in living with a life-limiting condition. Feelings of anxiety, fear, sadness or uncertainty are common, especially when facing changes to lifestyle, future plans or family roles.
Emotional support in the wider palliative care plan recognises these challenges and provides compassionate space to talk, reflect and be heard. Trained carers and counsellors offer understanding without judgement, while family support services help loved ones understand their own emotions. Regular companionship, meaningful conversations, and promoting enjoyable activities can help individuals maintain a strong sense of identity and control.
Spiritual care
Spiritual care addresses the need for meaning, peace and reassurance - whether that stems from faith, personal beliefs, or the desire to find comfort in uncertainty. For some, this may involve getting support from a religious representative, allowing time for regular prayer, or being able to openly discuss matters of belief with a carer or counsellor.
For others, it might mean reflecting on legacy, life stories, or exploring new spiritual ideas for the first time. Spiritual care is entirely personal and non-prescriptive. In this time of uncertainty, individuals will look to find comfort and understanding in new places and it's important to create space for those thoughts to be recognised and respected.
The different settings of palliative care
Palliative care can be delivered across a range of settings, depending on the individual needs, personal preferences, and the nature of their illness. Understanding each option is essential when planning the right type of care.
At home
Many people express a desire to remain at home as their condition progresses, and for good reason. Being in familiar surroundings, with treasured belongings and loved ones nearby, can bring immeasurable comfort.
Live-in care ensures continuity and one-to-one support, allowing care to be completely tailored to the individual. Family members can be present and involved, routines can be maintained, and the person receiving care can remain in control of how they live their life. At Consultus Care, we work collaboratively with GP’s, district nurses and other healthcare professionals to deliver high-quality palliative care at home.
In a care home or nursing home
A care home or nursing home may be an option when round-the-clock care is needed, when remaining at home is not practical or possible. These residential settings provide a structured environment, with access to care staff and support for daily living tasks.
While care homes can offer safety and supervision, the environment is shared, which can mean less personalised support. Emotional and spiritual care may vary between homes, and families may have less flexibility in their involvement and when they visit, especially if the home has specific rules or restrictions.
In a hospital
Palliative care in a hospital is provided alongside treatment for acute medical conditions or during a serious or sudden decline in health. While hospitals are equipped to handle medical emergencies, the environment can feel busy and clinical, and may not always align with personal preferences for end-of-life support.
Palliative care teams in hospitals can support symptom control, help families make informed decisions, and arrange for transition to home or hospice-based care if desired.
In a hospice
Hospice’s can be similar to residential care settings, but are focused entirely on providing palliative and end-of-life care in a peaceful setting. Care is typically overseen by doctors, nurses, counsellors and chaplains, with an emphasis on comfort, dignity and quality of life.
Hospices may also provide day care, where an individual can attend for the day to receive assistance and support before returning home. While not everyone may wish to leave their home, a hospice can offer invaluable support.
Palliative care at Consultus Care
At Consultus Care, we believe that being at home - surrounded by loved ones, familiar routines and treasured belongings - offers a deep sense of peace and comfort during life’s most challenging times. Our live-in palliative carers and nurses provide compassionate, round-the-clock support tailored to the needs of each individual.
Working closely with families and healthcare professionals, we ensure that every aspect of care - physical, emotional, and spiritual - is handled with dignity, compassion and respect. If you’re exploring options for palliative care at home, our experienced team is here to help you every ste of the way.
Get in touch to find out how our trusted, one-to-one care can help.
Why choose Consultus Care and Nursing?
One of the longest-established and most trusted providers
Founded in 1962, we have always been innovators in live-in care and live-in nursing. With over 60 years’ experience, we are one of the country’s longest-established, most highly recommended and experienced providers.
Unrivalled choice and control over your care
We understand that every person’s needs are different and every family’s situation is unique. With our choice of fully managed live-in care and nursing, and our introductory service, we offer more flexibility and personalisation than any other provider.
Highly trained nurses and carers
We are nationally recognised for the quality of our nurses and carers. With market-leading training, delivered at our own, multi-award-winning training centre, they provide exemplary, compassionate care tailored to individual needs, offering total peace of mind for clients and their families.
Expert care and support, dedicated to you
Our Care Consultants oversee our nursing and managed care services supporting only a small number of families. This means our service is truly personal, with unrivalled support and continuity of care. Reassurance that we are there when you need us most.
Family-founded, family-owned
We continue to be a family-owned and family-managed business. The largest wholly family-owned live-in care provider in the UK, we focus on what our clients and their families need from a high-quality care service, not on meeting investors’ expectations.
Your live-in care questions, answered
Live-in care is a highly personalised care service where a professional carer lives in your home to provide one-to-one care and support, around the clock. It enables people to maintain independence and safety in the comfort and familiarity of their own home, whilst receiving all the support they need. We know through our decades of experience that people feel better in their own homes, and our live-in care and live-in nursing give more people the freedom to make their own choices, and to live life their way.
A live-in carer is there to support your holistic needs, including all your care and support requirements, lifestyle and social preferences and companionship. They will help with:
· Personal care
· Medication support
· Mobility support
· Companionship and emotional support
· Meal preparation and cooking
· Housekeeping and domestic tasks
· Health monitoring
· Transportation and running errands
· Ensuring a safe and secure environment
· Specialist care of conditions, such as dementia and Parkinson’s
· Family support
· Ensuring connections with your local community
· Respite for family carers
Carers cannot perform any medical procedures, such as administering injections, dressing wounds or handling complex medical equipment. If you need medical care, we provide expert live-in nursing to support clients who have nursing needs. Additionally, carers cannot provide services outside of the scope of their role, like heavy lifting or manual tasks requiring specialist equipment.
We work closely with you and your family to match you with a carer based on your preferences, lifestyle and care needs. To ensure you have continuity of care, you will have a team of carers who will get to know you and provide cover for each other’s time off. We have over 60 years’ experience in successfully matching carers with clients ensuring peace of mind for everyone.
The cost of live in care is based on your specific care needs and circumstances, but ranges from a starting package of between £1,036 to £1,540 per week. Find out more about our live-in care services.
Live-in care is ideal for individuals who need continuous support due to age, illness, disability or who are recovering from surgery. It is also suitable for couples who want to stay together whilst receiving the care they need, or for anyone preferring not to have to leave their home and move into residential care.
Yes. We offer short-term live-in care, which can be arranged for respite care to give a family carer a much-needed break or following surgery to support rehabilitation and recovery. Short-term respite care also offers an opportunity for a family to try live-in care for the first time to make sure it is the right long-term care choice.
Yes. Live-in care is the ideal choice for couples who both need care. It provides a cost-effective way to provide tailored support, whilst allowing both individuals to remain together in the comfort of their home, avoiding the need to be separated through a move to a residential care home.
Yes of course. One of the many benefits of live-in care, when compared to moving into a residential setting, is that you do not need to be separated from your beloved pet. When we are planning care and matching you to the perfect carer, we will take this into consideration when making our carer selection. Many carers are happy to help with pet care, such as feeding, walking and companionship.
You will need to provide a private bedroom with basic amenities, including a bed and somewhere to store their clothes. They need to have access to a bathroom, but this doesn’t need to be a dedicated bathroom. Carers will also need access to WIFI to enable them to complete administration tasks. Meals and food allowance will also need to be agreed between the you and the carer. Most of our carers enjoy cooking and eating with their clients.
It is expected that your live-in carer sleeps during the night, so they are rested and refreshed to provide high-quality care during the daytime. We understand that occasional night calls are required, which the carer will respond to. Your dedicated Care Consultant will monitor this, to ensure it is not impacting our carer’s wellbeing and their ability to perform their role. Should you need more care during the night, then a second carer can be provided to cover a waking night package of care.
This will completely depend on your care and support needs. Should you have healthcare needs that a professional carer cannot support, for example help with administration of injections or PEG feeds, or tracheostomy care then you would need a live-in nurse. Our Care Advisors are here to guide you through which of our services would best meet you or your loved one’s needs, to ensure you have the right level of care and support.
There are many differences in the level of care and oversight provided between our fully managed, regulated live-in care service and our introductory service.
Fully managed care is just that. Our service is fully managed by a dedicated Care Consultant local to you, who provides high levels of oversight, management and support to the client, their families and our care team. In addition, there is 24/7 around the clock emergency support. This service is regulated and inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England, to ensure the highest possible standards of care. We are very proud to be rated a ‘Good’ service by the CQC.
Introductory care is when we match you with a self-employed carer, providing initial support, but with on-going oversight and management of the care provided by a nominated family member or representative.
All our carers are thoroughly vetted through a rigorous selection process, which covers all background checks, including Right-to-Work, an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check and employment reference checks. Carers then complete an aptitude test to ensure they have the necessary skills, ability and personality traits to provide high-quality live-in care. Candidates then go through an interview process and once successful complete our market-leading training, followed by a two week on-boarding in a client placement, overseen by their local Care Consultant, as they work to complete their Care Certificate. We are dedicated to ensuring all our carers are compassionate and have the necessary skills and experience to meet our client’s needs.
If you’re not satisfied with the carer for any reasons, we will work quickly with you to address your concerns and arrange an alternative carer. Our priority is to ensure continuity of care whilst a change of carer is facilitated.
Live-in carers will typically work over a 12-hour period, working up to 10 hours a day with a two-hour daily break. If a client cannot be left alone, a family member or other care provider will need to ensure their care needs are met during the carers break.
Carers are entitled to adequate breaks and time off. We ensure you have a small team of carers who get to know you or your loved one, and understand your needs who then cover each other’s time off ensuring continuity of care.
Our live-in care service is highly flexible. Care plans are regularly reviewed by your dedicated Care Consultant, who will ensure it accurately reflects the support required working closely with the care team, the client’s family and any healthcare professional involved in your care. Should your health needs evolve and cannot be met by a professional carer, we can offer our expert live-in nursing service and seamlessly transition you to this level of care.
Carers are trained to respond to emergencies, such as contacting emergency services, notifying family members, and following agreed protocols to ensure your safety. If you are receiving our high-quality managed live-in care service, you have around-the-clock support from a Care Consultant local to you and our office-based team. Should you be receiving our introductory live-in care service, the appointed family member or representative would need to be contacted in an emergency.
Depending on your financial and health circumstances, there may be financial support for funding live-in care, including local authority funding, or NHS Continuing Care funding from your Integrated Care Board (ICB), formerly a Clinical Commissiong Group. Many families are faced with having to fund live-in care themselves. However, there are many options including Care Fees insurance policies, and equity release schemes that can provide the financial support you need. At Consultus Care and Nursing, our Care Advisors are help you get the best advice, so you can make the right choice for you or your loved one.
Depending on the complexity of an individual’s needs, we can generally set up live-in care within 24-48 hours.
It starts with a friendly discussion with a member of our experienced Care Advisory team who will talk through your requirements, expectations and guide you as to the suitability of our different live-in care services. Should you wish to proceed with our managed care service, a Care Consultant who is local to you will conduct a comprehensive assessment of your needs in your home, alongside your family if you choose. If you decide to go ahead with the service, will then match you with the most suited carer. Once all the contractual paperwork is concluded a service start date is agreed. If you choose our introductory service, we will discuss your care and support needs with you as part of our registration process. We then match you with a suitable carer who we introduce to you to provide the care you need.
Looking for care?
Please fill out the enquiry form below and we will aim to contact you within 24 hours. Looking to work for Consultus Care and Nursing? Please apply here.
"All my mother's carers have been fantastic: kind and extremely caring, conscientious and flexible. They and our care manager are very knowledgeable about her condition and circumstances, and always keep me informed. The Consultus Connect app gives detailed day to day updates and allows me to check her bookings. I am so grateful for the support and would highly recommend the agency."
Hannah, August 2024
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To find out more about our award-winning live-in care services, download our brochure below.
