The Role of Palliative Care

Palliative care is dedicated to the holistic care and support of patients with advanced, incurable diseases. The focus is on the individual and their wishes, hopes, fears, and expectations. The desire for treatment aimed at a cure often cannot be fulfilled. It is not uncommon for the treatments used to cause distressing side effects. Multidisciplinary palliative care can significantly alleviate severe symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, or nausea. The GPR Clinic works closely with outpatient facilities such as hospices and specialized outpatient palliative care providers, addressing the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of patients and their families. The goal is to ensure that patients and their families experience a high quality of life with minimal symptoms.

Patients and their families seek personalized, proactive, and holistic care when facing complex medical conditions. This is precisely what our interdisciplinary palliative care team is dedicated to.

We view palliative care as a forward-looking form of care that provides relief, stabilization, and support at an early stage. Our focus is on providing comprehensive care for people with severe, often incurable illnesses, as well as their family members and loved ones.

In advanced stages of illness, curative (healing) treatment goals are often no longer the primary focus. Modern therapies such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or immunotherapies can also be accompanied by distressing side effects. The goal of our treatment is therefore to maintain and improve quality of life as much as possible.

Our multidisciplinary team focuses on the individual resources and needs of patients and collaboratively defines treatment goals across four palliative care domains: physical (medical and nursing), psychosocial, psychological, and spiritual. We provide support in alleviating symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, restlessness, nausea, severe fatigue, loss of appetite, and physical weakness. We also offer support for psychological distress, social issues, spiritual concerns, and ethical decisions at the end of life.

Diagnostic and therapeutic measures are always tailored to the individual goals of the patient and are determined through shared decision-making. In doing so, we work closely within a multidisciplinary team, with the specialized departments of our hospital, as well as with external healthcare providers, caregivers, and organizations.

For us, palliative care is a way of life: listening, providing respectful support, acting with professional expertise, and treating others with compassion. We are
happy to serve as a point of contact for patients, their family members, and loved ones, offering consultation, collaborative care, and shared decision-making.