Palliative & Supportive Care
Palliative and Supportive Care at SilverOak Health is an integral component of care for all patients with life-limiting illness, provided from the point of diagnosis alongside active disease-modifying treatment and not reserved solely for the end of life. Our specialist palliative care team — comprising palliative medicine consultants, specialist nurses, social workers, chaplains, and psychologists — focuses on the relief of suffering and optimisation of quality of life across physical, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions.
Symptom management is the core clinical activity of palliative care. Our team provides expert assessment and treatment of complex pain using the WHO analgesic ladder principles, opioid optimisation, and adjuvant analgesics including ketamine, lidocaine infusions, and interventional approaches for refractory pain. Breathlessness, nausea, fatigue, anxiety, depression, delirium, and intractable symptoms at the end of life are managed using evidence-based protocols that maintain comfort and dignity.
Advance care planning — facilitating informed conversations about patients' priorities, wishes, and values regarding future care — is a priority of our palliative care service, ensuring that patient preferences are documented and respected even when decision-making capacity is lost. Our inpatient palliative care team provides consultation and co-management throughout the hospital, while our community palliative care liaison supports discharge planning and coordination with hospice and community nursing services. We are committed to ensuring that every patient at SilverOak Health who faces a life-limiting diagnosis receives timely access to palliative care expertise regardless of diagnosis, age, or care setting.
