End of life care at home
Preparing for the final days and moments can be incredibly challenging for both the person who is unwell and their loved ones. However, planning appropriately for this difficult time can provide a sense of comfort, knowing that everything is taken care of and your wishes will be honoured.
If you choose to have end-of-life care at home, our devoted team will meet with both you and your family to create a personalised support plan tailored to your wishes and needs. This approach allows everyone to work from the same agreed plan, led by your preferences and choices, ensuring a dignified and respectful transition for you.
For families, home-based end-of-life care provides a sense of involvement and closure, allowing them to spend precious time with their loved one.
InSafeHands end-of-life care at home emphasises comfort, respect, and compassion, ensuring a dignified end of life.
How to prepare for end of life care
It is really important that you do not find yourself in a situation where your friend or relative is entering the end of their life and you do not know what they want. You could end up making decisions based on best guesses rather than a person’s stated wishes, and you will always wonder if you made the right choices.
Clear and open communication will lead you to a place where you can help somebody to create an end-of-life care plan that is full of meaning for them. Make sure you learn about the different options available so that all the decisions you collectively make are informed rather than guesswork.
Vigil Support
For many people, being with the dying person is a way to show support and love. This is called keeping a vigil.
Your cultural or spiritual traditions may require someone to be present, and this may also be the time to perform any rituals.
Some people find keeping a vigil exhausting and draining, and it can be hard to estimate how long it will last. Taking breaks and sharing the time with others can help.
Your loved one will have their preferred carer available to sit at their bedside within the last 72 hours of life. If possible, vigil support is provided 24 hours a day so that your loved one is not alone. Carers may also offer to support the family if they feel a need for support. We ensure that each person is cared for by a compassionate, non-judgmental, knowledgeable carer who will listen quietly and provide as much comfort as possible.
For many, being in the presence of someone who is near death is very difficult. We believe that the best help family members and friends can provide at this time is to be accepting of death, and allow their loved one to pass peacefully.
Hearing is said to be the last sense to go, sMake sure to sit with the person and perhaps hold their hand.
Hearing is considered to be the last sense to go, so it’s important to talk to the person or have a conversation among the people in the room to ensure the person knows they are not alone.
You can read aloud, sing, hum, or play some of their favourite music.
Plan to take breaks or organise shifts with your carers, other family and friends.
Decide who you think is appropriate to have in the room at this stage and let other visitors know if you want just close family.
Have food and drinks on hand and some cushions and blankets
Why Choose Revelation
Home care can settle some anxieties and worries that both the individual and their loved ones may have because it removes the element of being in an unfamiliar environment that may arise when considering end-of-life care in a hospice or hospital setting.
Being in close proximity to family members or enjoying the familiar smells and sounds of your own home can make a real difference to someone’s mental wellbeing in the last few days of their life. Being at home also allows someone to have the privacy and comfort they desire during quite an upsetting time, particularly if they have specific equipment for their healthcare needs or routines that they want to maintain, such as watering their plants and sitting in their garden.
What is most important to your loved one. What are their priorities in the final months of their lives?
Your loved one’s health condition – what are the likely outcomes? What symptoms are they likely to experience towards the end of their life? How will it best be managed?
What options there are with regard to medication. Will this need to be changed as the client nears death, or is their medication sufficient to deal with increasing symptoms or distress?
Are any alternative therapies available? Is this something the patient would be interested in?
Where your loved one wants to be towards the end of their life. Do they want to be at home, in a care home, in a hospital or in a hospice?
What is available locally? Can local provision match what the person desires? For instance, is there a hospice available in the local area?
Does the person want to donate their organs? If so, is this possible or are they too unwell for their organs to be viable?
At the core of this planning is communication. Talk to your loved ones, and make sure you understand exactly what they need at this time. The more you know, the easier it will be to know that you have fulfilled a person’s wishes and not gone against a principle that is important to them
The support plan covers the following areas:
“All about me” is a simple summary of what is important to your loved one and how they want to be supported. It can help them get more person-centred care by capturing all the important information.
Information such as interests, likes, dislikes, wishes and spiritual needs would be included, as it’s important to ensure the customer’s final requests are met. They may have religious routines that they may want carried out before they pass, or they may wish to have certain loved ones present in their last few hours of life. There may also be details of what their wishes are for after they have passed away, in order to assist their loved ones.
- What is most important to your loved one. What are their priorities in the final months of their lives?
- Your loved one’s health condition – what are the likely outcomes? What symptoms are they likely to experience towards the end of their life? How will it best be managed?
- What options there are with regard to medication. Will this need to be changed as the client nears death, or is their medication sufficient to deal with increasing symptoms or distress?
- Are any alternative therapies available? Is this something the patient would be interested in?
- Where your loved one wants to be towards the end of their life. Do they want to be at home, in a care home, in a hospital or in a hospice?
- What is available locally? Can local provision match what the person desires? For instance, is there a hospice available in the local area?
- Does the person want to donate their organs? If so, is this possible or are they too unwell for their organs to be viable?
At the core of this planning is communication. Talk to your loved ones, and make sure you understand exactly what they need at this time. The more you know, the easier it will be to know that you have fulfilled a person’s wishes and not gone against a principle that is important to them