Palliative care is care that relieves the symptoms and stress of a serious illness, at any stage, whether or not the illness can be cured; people can receive it for years, alongside treatment. End of life care is palliative care in the last year of life, and most intensively in the last weeks and days. The confusion matters because people refuse palliative care thinking it means giving up, when it is often the thing that lets them live better for longer.
Key facts
| Palliative care | End of life care | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Any stage of a serious illness, from diagnosis | Thought to be in the last year of life; mostly the last weeks and days |
| Aim | Relieve symptoms, support quality of life, alongside or instead of treatment | Comfort, dignity, the person’s wishes, support for family |
| How long | Months or years | Weeks or months, sometimes days |
| Who provides it | GP, specialist palliative care teams, hospices, hospital teams | The same people, with district nurses, care workers and hospice at home more involved |
| Does it mean dying? | No | Death is expected, though timing is uncertain |
What is palliative care?
The World Health Organization defines palliative care as an approach that improves the quality of life of people and their families facing a life-threatening illness, by preventing and relieving suffering through early identification, assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.
In practice it means:
- Controlling pain, breathlessness, sickness, fatigue, anxiety and other symptoms.
- Helping the person and family understand the illness and make decisions.
- Supporting emotional, social and spiritual needs.
- Coordinating care between hospital, GP, community services and hospice.
- Supporting carers.
Palliative care can start at diagnosis. Someone with heart failure might have palliative input for five years. Someone with cancer might have palliative care alongside chemotherapy that is intended to extend life. The “palliative care team” at a hospital or hospice is a specialist team; much palliative care is also given by GPs, district nurses and ward staff as part of general care.
Research in several cancers has found that people who receive early palliative care alongside treatment report better quality of life and mood, and in some studies live slightly longer than people who receive treatment alone. Palliative care is not an alternative to treatment; it is what makes treatment bearable.
What is end of life care?
End of life care is the part of palliative care given when a person is likely to die within the next twelve months, and in common usage the care given in the last weeks and days. The focus narrows to comfort, dignity and the person’s wishes: where they want to be, who they want around them, what treatment they do and do not want.
It includes everything palliative care includes, plus:
- Planning for where the person will be cared for and what happens in a crisis.
- “Just in case” medicines in the home for symptoms that may arise.
- More hands-on nursing and personal care as the person becomes less able.
- Discussions about resuscitation and treatment preferences, usually recorded in an advance care plan or ReSPECT form.
- Support for the family through the death and afterwards.
Our guide to what end of life care is goes into who provides it and where.
Why the distinction matters
People refuse palliative care because they think it means dying. A referral to the palliative care team is often made early, to help with symptoms, and is declined because the person hears “hospice” and “palliative” as “the end”. The result is months of avoidable symptoms. If a doctor suggests palliative care, it is worth asking what they hope it will do; the answer is usually “control your pain and help you keep doing the things you want to do”.
People think end of life care is only for the last days. Recognising that someone may be in the last year of life is what triggers the planning that makes a good death possible: the conversations, the fast-track funding, the equipment, the out-of-hours plan. Families who are told late are the ones who end up in A&E at 3am.
The words are used loosely. Some professionals say “palliative” when they mean “end of life”, and vice versa. If you are unsure what someone means, ask directly: “Do you think my mother is in the last year of her life?” Most doctors will give a direct answer if asked plainly.
What about “supportive care”?
Some hospitals now call their palliative care teams “supportive care” teams, partly to get past the fear the word palliative provokes. It is the same service.
What about hospice care?
A hospice provides specialist palliative care, both for people at the end of life and for people with complex symptoms earlier in an illness. Many people go into a hospice for a week or two to get symptoms under control and then go home. Our hospice guide explains what hospices do and how to get a referral.
Who pays?
NHS palliative and end of life care is free: GP, district nurses, hospital and hospice. Social care at home or in a care home is means-tested unless the person qualifies for NHS continuing healthcare, which can be fast-tracked for people whose condition is deteriorating rapidly. Our guide to who pays for end of life care explains the rules in each UK nation.
Help that is free
- Marie Curie support line: 0800 090 2309, every day.
- Macmillan Cancer Support: 0808 808 00 00.
- Hospice UK: hospice finder.
- Your GP practice, which can refer to the local palliative care team.
Finding a service
Endoflifecare.uk lists nursing homes, palliative home care services and hospices across the UK with the regulator’s registration and rating where one exists (checked October 2026); 830 of the listed services provide palliative care at home and 254 provide hospice inpatient care. Hospice care is arranged by referral from the GP or hospital team.
Sources
- World Health Organization: Palliative care
- NHS: End of life care
- Marie Curie: What are palliative care and end of life care?
- NICE: End of life care for adults: service delivery (NG142)
- Temel JS et al., Early palliative care for patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer, New England Journal of Medicine, 2010