Palliative medicine consultation

What is a palliative medicine consultation?

A palliative medicine consultation is an appointment with a specialist whose job is to help you live as well as possible when you have a serious illness. It focuses on improving your quality of life — easing symptoms such as pain, breathlessness, sickness, tiredness or poor sleep, and supporting you and the people close to you emotionally and practically.

Palliative care is not about giving up, and it is not only for the very end of life. Crucially, it can run alongside treatments aimed at controlling or curing your illness, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or heart or lung treatments. Many people see a palliative specialist for months or years, sometimes feeling better and more in control as a result. You do not have to stop other treatment to have it.

The consultation also makes space, at your pace and only if you wish, to talk about what matters to you and to plan ahead — your priorities, where you would like to be cared for, and your wishes for the future. These conversations are about helping you have more say in your care, not about hastening anything.

This guide explains what to expect from a palliative medicine consultation and how to get the most from it. It does not replace personal advice from your own team. If you or someone you care for has a sudden, severe symptom or a crisis, seek urgent help straight away using the contacts your team has given you, or call 999 in an emergency.

Types, options & approaches

There may be different ways to do this. The right approach depends on the clinical question and your circumstances.

Options at a glance

These are the main approaches described in this guide. The right option depends on the diagnosis, your goals and what your clinician thinks is safe.

Preparing for your appointment

• Make a list of the symptoms that bother you most and how they affect your daily life.
• Bring an up-to-date list of all your medicines, including doses, and anything you take for symptoms.
• Note what matters most to you and any questions or worries you want to raise.
• Consider bringing someone close to you for support and to help remember the discussion.
• Bring any relevant letters, results or care plans you already have.
• Think about what you would like the appointment to achieve, even if that is simply feeling more comfortable.
• There is no pressure to discuss future planning unless and until you feel ready.

What happens

The specialist will spend time getting to know you and understanding your illness, your symptoms and what matters most to you. They will ask in detail about symptoms such as pain, breathlessness, sickness, appetite, sleep and energy, and how these affect your everyday life and mood.

They review your medicines and may suggest changes to improve symptom control, sometimes alongside the treatments your other teams provide. They will also ask, gently, about how you and the people close to you are coping, and what support might help at home.

If and when you are ready, there may be space to talk about your priorities and wishes for the future — but only at your pace, and you can decline. Together you agree a plan, which usually includes changes to ease symptoms, support for those close to you, and clear arrangements for follow-up and for getting help between appointments. With your consent, the plan is shared with your other teams so your care stays coordinated.

Is this appointment right for me?

A good consultation should explore whether it's the right choice for you now — including reasons to wait or consider something else.

Before you decide

Use this as a shared-decision checklist. The aim is not just “can this be done?”, but whether it is right for you, now, with the risks and alternatives clearly understood.

Palliative care is gentle and supportive, so the main things to be aware of are emotional rather than physical. Good care moves at your pace, never pushes difficult conversations before you are ready, and makes clear that this support sits alongside — not instead of — treatments aimed at your illness. Symptom medicines can have side effects, so ask what each is for and how it will be reviewed. It is fine to ask who will see your plan and to set the pace yourself.

Published figures to discuss

Palliative care is a supportive consultation, so meaningful complication rates do not apply in the way they do for procedures. How well symptoms improve depends on the underlying illness, the symptoms involved and individual factors, and the course of a serious illness cannot always be predicted. Reputable sources therefore describe benefits and support qualitatively rather than as success percentages.

These are literature figures, not a personalised prediction. Your own risks and likely benefits depend on your circumstances, your health, and how your care is carried out and followed up.

What happens afterwards

There is no physical recovery from a consultation. What matters afterwards is how your symptoms and wellbeing respond to the plan, and having clear, easy ways to get support and adjust the plan as things change.

• Feeling emotionally tired after a meaningful conversation
• Needing a little time to settle on the right symptom medicines and doses
• Relief at having support and a plan in place
• Gradually feeling more comfortable and more in control
• Wanting to revisit some topics at a later appointment

Aftercare

• Follow the agreed symptom plan and report what is and is not helping.
• Take symptom medicines as advised and mention any side effects so they can be adjusted.
• Use the contact details given for advice or help between appointments.
• Involve and support the people close to you, who can also access help.
• Keep your other teams informed so care stays coordinated.
• Revisit future planning only if and when you feel ready.
• Know who to contact urgently if a symptom suddenly worsens or a crisis develops.

• A clear list of your main symptoms and how they affect you
• An up-to-date medicines list
• Notes on what matters most to you and your questions
• Someone close to you to attend if you wish
• Contact details for your palliative care team, including out-of-hours
• Any existing care plans, letters or results
• A plan for urgent help if symptoms suddenly worsen

⚠ Get urgent help if…

• A sudden, severe or rapidly worsening symptom such as severe pain or breathlessness — use your team's urgent contact, or call 999 in an emergency
• Severe, uncontrolled pain that your current plan is not managing
• Sudden difficulty breathing, chest pain or collapse — call 999
• Uncontrolled vomiting, or being unable to keep medicines down
• New confusion, drowsiness or being hard to wake
• Signs of a crisis affecting you or a carer's ability to cope safely at home
• Thoughts of self-harm or not wanting to go on — tell your team, who can offer support, or seek urgent help

Who to contact: your clinician, clinic or test provider first (keep their number to hand). For urgent advice when you can't reach them, call NHS 111. In an emergency, call 999.

General guidance — it doesn't replace the specific advice your specialist gives you.

Results & realistic expectations

A good outcome is that your symptoms are better controlled, you feel more supported and more in control, and you have a plan that fits with your other treatment and with what matters to you. Often a plan is agreed at the first appointment, with symptom control fine-tuned over the following days and weeks.

Palliative care cannot change the course of the underlying illness, and the future cannot always be predicted. What it offers is real improvements in comfort, wellbeing and support for you and those close to you — and, if you wish, help making your voice heard in your care.

Support from a palliative specialist is not a one-off fix; it continues and flexes for as long as it helps, sometimes for months or years. Symptoms and priorities change over time, so the plan is reviewed and adjusted, and any wishes you record can be revisited whenever you want. Involvement can also pause and restart as your needs change.

Related tests, treatments or support

Palliative care is designed to work alongside the rest of your care, including treatments aimed at controlling or curing your illness, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or heart and lung treatments. It often involves a team — doctors, nurses, and others such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers and chaplaincy — and is coordinated with your other specialists so everything fits together.

Follow-up & long-term care

Follow-up is arranged to suit your needs and may be in clinic, at home, by phone, or as part of hospital or hospice care. It reviews how your symptoms are responding, adjusts the plan, and continues support for you and those close to you. You should always have clear ways to get help between appointments, including out-of-hours, and your other teams are kept informed with your consent.

• Keep your symptom and medicines plan under review with your team.
• Report changes in symptoms early so the plan can be adjusted.
• Keep contact details, including out-of-hours, easy to find.
• Make sure those close to you know how to get support.
• Revisit any future wishes you have recorded whenever you want to.
• Keep all your teams informed so care stays coordinated.

Repeat, follow-on and what comes next

• Symptom plans are commonly adjusted as your needs and the illness change.
• Medicines for symptoms are often fine-tuned over several reviews.
• Any recorded wishes can be revisited and changed at any time.
• Involvement can increase, decrease, pause or restart as your situation changes.

Ask what happens if the result is unclear or needs repeating, and what is included if further tests or follow-up are needed.

What good aftercare looks like

• A clear, written, personalised symptom and support plan.
• A named contact and reliable access to advice between appointments, including out-of-hours.
• Support extended to the people close to you and carers.
• Coordination with your other teams so care stays joined up.
• Reviews that adapt the plan as your needs and wishes change, at your pace.

What affects the cost

Costs vary a great deal between people and providers, and we don't publish prices. What matters is understanding what drives the cost and making sure your quote is complete. The main things that affect it:

• The length of the appointment and whether it is in clinic, at home or by phone or video.
• The seniority of the specialist and whether wider team input is included.
• The complexity of your symptoms and the number of follow-up appointments.
• Any tests, equipment or medicines arranged.
• Written care plans, letters to your other teams and coordination of care.
• Out-of-hours advice arrangements where offered privately.

• The specialist's fee and the planned appointment length.
• What is included, such as follow-up, phone advice and team input.
• Whether home visits are available and any extra cost.
• How care is coordinated with your NHS and other teams.
• Arrangements for help and advice between appointments, including out-of-hours.
• Whether a written plan and letters to your other teams are provided.

On the NHS? Specialist palliative care is widely available on the NHS through hospitals, hospices and community teams and is usually free; private consultations may offer faster access, choice or continuity alongside NHS care.

You're entitled to your total cost in writing — including reports, follow-up and what happens if the result is inconclusive — before you decide.

Consent traps and marketing red flags

These are not small details. They are often where patients lose choice, time to reflect, or realistic expectations.

Choosing a specialist safely

• Check the specialist is on the GMC Specialist Register for this area.
• Make sure they work at a CQC-registered service, and look for membership of the relevant Royal College or professional body.
• You're entitled to time to consider and to have your questions answered before you agree — the specialist who looks after you should explain it, not a salesperson.
• Be wary of pressure: time-limited offers or deposits taken before you've had time to think are red flags, not bargains.
• You're entitled to your total cost in writing — including any follow-up — before you decide.

How Vuemedics verifies every consultant →

Take this to your consultation. A good specialist will welcome every one of these.

• How can we improve the symptoms that bother me most?
• Can this support work alongside the treatment I am already having?
• What can help the people close to me and my carers?
• Who do I contact for advice or help between appointments, including out-of-hours?
• How and when will my symptom plan be reviewed?
• If and when I want to, how do we record my wishes, and who sees them?
• How will you keep my other teams informed?
• Are you on the GMC Specialist Register for this area, and which Royal College or professional body are you a member of?
• Will you be the specialist who carries out my appointment, and who looks after me afterwards?
• What are the risks for someone like me, and how often do your own patients have a problem or need it repeated or redone?
• What does a realistic result look like — and what can this appointment not achieve?
• What are my options, including waiting, doing nothing for now, or choosing a different approach?
• Can I have written information, results and aftercare instructions in a format I can use, including any accessibility or communication support I need?
• What is the total cost in writing, including any follow-ups, and how much time do I have to decide?

Find a verified specialist for palliative medicine consultation

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How we made this page

Medically reviewed by a GMC-registered consultant. Written in plain English, checked against NHS, NICE, GMC and relevant Royal College / specialist-society guidance, and kept under review. No clinic paid to appear on this page, and we publish no pricing. This is general information to help you prepare — it is not a substitute for advice from your own clinician. How we review our guides →

Source hierarchy: UK regulator and NHS/NICE guidance first, then relevant Royal College or specialist-society guidance, then peer-reviewed evidence for procedure-specific figures where available.

Sources & standards: Marie Curie — What is palliative care? Marie Curie — The palliative care team NHS — End of life and palliative care Hospice UK — Advance care planning NICE NG142 — End of life care for adults: service delivery Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland

Reviews reflect patients' experience of care, not clinical outcomes. For procedure volumes and outcome data see PHIN.

Last medically reviewed 2026-09-21. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Report an error in this guide.