Singapore Hospice Council

1800-333-6666

(Hospice Helpline)

[ Who needs hospice and palliative care? ]

1. Patients with life limiting illnesses

A patient can begin to receive hospice and palliative care right after diagnosis, if he is suffering from pain related to his illness or side effects from curative treatment. He can choose to combine hospice and palliative care with curative treatment, or only opt for hospice and palliative care after his body stops responding to curative treatment.

List of some common life limiting illnesses:

Advanced Alzheimer's disease
End-stage Lung disease
End-stage Heart disease
AIDS
Advanced Stroke
Advanced Dementia
End-stage Liver disease
Advanced Cancer

2. Patients with degenerative illnesses

A patient may have been diagnosed with a degenerative condition early in life, but the effects of the condition only surface at an older age. Alternatively, the patient’s condition may be extremely painful, but not life limiting on its own. The patient can receive hospice and palliative care to ease his pain.

List of some common degenerative illnesses:

Advanced Parkinson's disease
Advanced Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Motor Neuron Disease
Advanced Muscular Dystrophy
Or other advanced neurological disorders

3. Patients who are in pain

Sometimes the pain that is experienced by a patient from his condition may be amplified due to emotional and spiritual pain. Such pain cannot be easily controlled by pain suppressing medication. Also, some pain suppressants leave patients in a consistently sedated state, which they may be unhappy with. Pain management techniques and counselling can help patients in these situations.

Factors that do not affect a patient's chances of receiving hospice and palliative care:

Age
Race
Religion
Financial Status
Citizenship Status
Complexity of illness