Palliative Care
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative Care helps patients with a life-limiting disease by making the quality of their life, or death, better. Members of the Palliative Care Consult Team (PCCT) at Sunnybrook can help patients with the pain, symptoms and emotional concerns that often come with a serious illness. The PCCT are experts in helping patients and families make decisions for their current care and future care plans (a process called: advance care planning).
Why am I being cared for by Palliative Care?
During your time in hospital, your main health care team asked for help from the Palliative Care Consult Team because they are experts in pain and symptom management and supporting patients who may go home after their hospital stay. Having a member of the PCCT team visit you in hospital does not necessarily mean that your life expectancy is short.
What does the PCCT do?
The Palliative Care Consult Team are a group of doctors, nurses, a social worker, a chaplain and administrative staff. They provide care to patients admitted to Sunnybrook and patients who attend the clinics at the Odette Cancer Centre. The PCCT works with your main health care team to offer the best possible care to patients with advanced illness.
Is the Palliative Care Consult Team the same as the Palliative Care Unit at Sunnybrook?
No. They are two different services. The Palliative Care Unit (PCU) is a unit in the hospital where patients with a serious illness are admitted. The PCU staff offer care to patients who are at the end of their life. The PCU is located on the first floor of Kilgour Wing (K1E) and is designed to create a comfortable home-like space.
The Palliative Care Clinic at Odette Cancer Centre:
- Is made up of a doctor, nurses, pharmacists and social workers who have experience in managing complex cancer-related symptoms.
- Runs every Monday – Thursday afternoon and every other Friday morning.
