Is palliative care free?

Question

Is palliative care free and where can i find a website with proof of this i have looked everywere

Answer 1

Are you in the uk? If so it is as my Mother needed it in last weeks of her life and we had Mcmillan nurses,Hospice at Home,they were brilliant people at such a heartbreakingly difficult time they were great.

Answer 2

I live in Barnsley South Yorkshire and a year ago my husband had wonderful free palliative care at the Barnsley Hospice. If you look up about hospices on the WEB I feel sure you will find that they mention palliative care and all the treatments they offer are free to patients.

Answer 3

Apparently it depends on what side of the pond you live on.

In the US palliative care is considered to be any treatment received to alleviate symptoms and slow the progression of disease rather than curing the disease. Here in the US palliative care also references anyone living with a chronic or life threatening illness. As far as costs, in the US it is not free but can be part of health insurance coverage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palliative_care

In the US we use the term hospice care to refer to end of life healthcare.

Answer 4

We also have universal medicare in Canada so palliative care is provided with no charge to the patient.

I note the comment that it is paid for with taxes.

That's true, but when both of us lost our jobs - which in the States would mean that we lost our medical insurance - my wife got a serious and urgent operation and very expensive follow up treatment without any more than a quick look at her Health card. Without universal healthcare we would be living in a shelter.

Answer 5

When there was nothing more that could be done for my father with his cancer- they moved him, in the hospital in Boston affiliated with The Dana Farber Cancer Institute, to the palliative care floor where they followed all care and comfort orders, including pain medicine to assist in his comfort while dying. I can assure you, that it was not free. Medication and nursing care, doctors are all very expensive. I have never heard of medical professionals volunteering for this event.
Maybe they do in the Red Cross in third world countries.

Answer 6

Anyone with chronic debilitating illness is generally not admissible for immigration, and not eligible for any employment visa. Furthermore, people generally are not covered by govt health systems unless they are citizens or legal permanent residents & have been paying taxes for at least some minimum length of time prior to start of coverage. Employers would have to provide for all your health care expenses, and employers are sorely disinclined to hire anyone with any health problem, especially an expensive one. Do not attempt to go to Canada, etc, as applying is a waste of your time. BTW, waits for care are so long in Canada, that many Canadians come to US for medical care & pay cash in full for treatment in the country with the world's most costly medical care. They are often paying $100,000 or more in cash for procedures because it's hard to obtain timely in Canada. Also, this will give you a clue about Canada's rapidly failing Canada Health - the little state of Maryland has more MRI machines available & in use than the entire country of Canada. Waits just for an MRI can take 6 months or more in Canada, or so a number of Canadians have told me. UK is far worse. A friend who lives in UK had a dental emergency, severe pain, and the waiting list for EMERGENCY care was 6 months long. He had to drive over 200 miles and pay thousands of pounds to find a private-care dentist for an infection which, if untreated, could have caused blood poisoning & death within days. See, if you make people wait long enough, a lot die instead of overloading the system. Cruel, but true of socialized medicine everywhere sooner or later. You get what you pay for.

Answer 7

Palliative care is free, although i do not know of any websites to tell you about. my nan had stomach cancer and was under the local nhs palliative care team, who montitered her medication and condition regulary, they also organise any further assistance people suffering with cancer requires ie, home helps etc., etc.,
hope this has been of use to you.

Answer 8

Do you have Hospice where you live? If so, give them a call and they will answer all of your questions...They will help you any way that they can.

Answer 9

If you are in the UK it is all 100% free. this includes any hospice care and all home nursing.

You may find this site helpful:
http://www.ncpc.org.uk/palliative_care.html

Answer 10

palliative care is available through the NHS - it's not "free" - it's paid for by our taxes or, those who pay taxes.