The Journey Together Palliative Care: Services, Supports, and the Difference They Make
Sep 7, 2025
Jacinta Kelly, Director of Nursing with 20+ years in hospice care, and Nuala Ginnelly, long‑time operational lead shaping inpatient and community services, share their perspectives. They discuss what palliative care truly means. They outline hospice services, myths about hospice, community support, therapies, and choices about place of care. Personal stories underscore living well now.
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Palliative Care Is About Living Well
- Palliative care focuses on improving quality of life for patients and families facing life‑threatening illness.
- Nuala cites the WHO definition and stresses it is not age‑ or diagnosis‑specific and does not mention death or dying.
Three Integrated Service Streams
- Northwest Hospice delivers three integrated services: inpatient unit, hospital palliative care team, and community team.
- Nuala explains patients move between home, acute hospital, and the hospice unit with the multidisciplinary team following their journey.
Accept Discharge As A Positive Step
- Be open to leaving the service when specialist palliative care needs are controlled; you can be discharged and re‑referred later.
- Nuala describes discharging patients back to GP care once symptoms are managed, then re‑engaging as needs change.