There may come a time when health professionals determine that an individual’s condition is unlikely to improve. This could be due to a prognosis of six months or less or the inevitable progression of a chronic health condition. However, this does not mean that no further actions are required or that nothing more can be done.
On the contrary, it is crucial that individuals with such diagnoses receive compassionate and expert care. An experienced comfort carer can provide pain relief, peace and dignity to those with chronic, life limiting conditions.
Take a look at our guide to complex live-in care for more information on caring for individuals with complicated, chronic health needs.
What is comfort care?
Comfort care is a type of short-term care, typically administered as part of palliative care or end of life care at home. When healthcare professionals start to move individuals on from curative or life-prolonging treatments, they switch to focusing on the comfort of the person and shift towards comfort care.
This form of care is geared towards symptom and pain management and improving quality of life. Appropriate care during this stage of life is essential as it ensures that individuals do not have to face unnecessary pain, discomfort, and loss of dignity at this difficult time.
Comfort care focuses on managing symptoms, offering:
- Pain relief
- Assistance with breathing difficulties
- Skin and wound care
- Help with emotional and psychological needs
- Management of body temperature
- Support with fatigue
- Help with eating and drinking
When might comfort care be useful?
Comfort care branches off from both end of life care and palliative care. The difference between palliative care and end of life care is that with palliative care an individual is possibly in the early stages of diagnosis and is still undergoing life-prolonging treatment for their condition. End of life care is typically administered in the later stages, once the condition has progressed beyond treatment.
In both cases, comfort care is a useful service, offering support with symptoms, pain management, and ensuring that individuals can live their lives to the fullest, right until the end.
Whilst the nature of progressive health conditions and terminal illnesses impacts an individual’s ability to enjoy their life due to symptoms increasing in severity, comfort care does have its uses. Experienced comfort carers can help with symptoms and pain management, as well as taking care of other tasks around the home. This leaves your loved one to fill the time they have left with more enjoyable activities.
What does comfort care involve?
Comfort care mainly involves managing the symptoms and pain relief of individuals with life limiting health conditions. However, comfort carers can provide much more in the way of assistance, ensuring that your loved one is not concerned over daily tasks or struggling with personal care.
Comfort care services typically involve:
- Pain relief support
- Symptom management
- Assistance with personal care
- Help getting in and out of bed
- Mobility support
- Transportation and accompaniment to appointments and social events
- Light housekeeping
- Meal preparation
- Facilitating hobbies and interests
- Companionship
What does comfort care involve?
Comfort care mainly involves managing the symptoms and pain relief of individuals with life limiting health conditions. However, comfort carers can provide much more in the way of assistance, ensuring that your loved one is not concerned over daily tasks or struggling with personal care.
Comfort care services typically involve:
- Pain relief support
- Symptom management
- Assistance with personal care
- Help getting in and out of bed
- Mobility support
- Transportation and accompaniment to appointments and social events
- Light housekeeping
- Meal preparation
- Facilitating hobbies and interests
- Companionship
Get in touch
Should your loved one need comfort care to help them live out their time with dignity and peace, comfort care services can provide great assistance and relief. Trinity Homecare will find a compassionate comfort carer for your loved one, so that they can experience a better quality of life, even in the most trying of circumstances.
You can rest assured that your loved one will benefit from the highest standard of comfort care and support as Trinity is ranked amongst the top 4% of all nationwide care companies in England.
If you would like to learn more about arranging comfort care services for your loved one, simply get in touch with our friendly and professional care team.
Just follow these five steps:
- Call our care team
- Undergo a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your care needs and arrange a care assessment
- After the assessment, a plan of care is created
- A well suited carer is found and placed
- Care can be adapted at any time
Frequently Asked Questions
Comfort care is support focused on keeping someone as comfortable and free from distress as possible when a condition can no longer be cured. Attention moves from treating the illness to managing symptoms, maintaining dignity and supporting quality of life, alongside practical and emotional support for the family.
The terms overlap. Palliative care is the broader term for symptom-focused care alongside a serious illness, and can continue for years while treatment is ongoing. End of life care usually refers to the final year. Comfort care describes the same priorities in plainer language and is most often used in the final weeks.
Usually earlier than families expect. Comfort-focused support is valuable whenever symptoms are affecting quality of life, and beginning early allows time to establish trust, discuss wishes calmly and plan properly, rather than making significant decisions under pressure.
Support with pain and symptom relief alongside district nurses and the GP, assistance with washing, positioning and mouth care, pressure area care, help with eating and drinking for as long as it is wanted, a calm presence, and support for the family. Full-time care at home allows this to continue around the clock.
No. It means changing what care is intended to achieve: comfort and quality of life rather than cure. Many people continue treatments that help them feel better. It is a considered decision about how someone wishes to spend their time, made by the person together with their clinical team.
Yes. With full-time or visiting care working alongside district nurses, the GP and community palliative teams, comfort care can be delivered at home through to the end of life. Hospice support can run alongside home care rather than replacing it. Most people say they would prefer to be at home.
