When providing care for a dying patient, informal carers are faced with intense emotions and a number of challenges. Informal carers often feel overwhelmed by their caring role, but care services are not tailored to meet their needs. Palliative care for the dying patients ought to be organised in such manner that every dying patient and informal carer could choose from a variety of services in addition to receiving support from their family and friends. If the dying patient had a palliative disease, he should have a palliative care team of professionals at hand, including a social worker as an equal member, who could use his skills (for example by applying the principles of social work with the elderly) to help the dying patients and their informal carers. In my thesis, I present the findings of different authors on the experiences of close family members and relatives when caring for a dying patient. I explore how we could provide an appropriate response in social work and other disciplines to the challenges and difficulties experienced by informal carers. The thesis is based on a theoretical discussion of literature – I have analysed fifteen scientific and professional articles to compare the similarities and identify the differences in the findings of different authors. The results of the analysis show that the aforementioned authors are unanimous in their findings that informal caregivers are physically, emotionally and psychologically stressed by their caregiving. What is more, they have mostly negative experiences of caregiving, since there is a lack of, or ineffective, communication between the informal caregivers and the dying patients, their family members and professionals. To provide personalised support for the dying patients and informal carers, it is essential to assess their needs and offer them a wide range of services. Furthermore, it is necessary to have an interdisciplinary palliative care team involved in the care of the dying patients and in supporting informal carers, in the case of palliative disease of the dying patient. As a member of the team, a social worker can make an important contribution to the care of the dying patients and provide support to informal carers by bringing their knowledge and expertise to the process. In conclusion, social work needs to become more involved in the development of innovative forms of care for the dying patients.
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