It's important to understand the financial, practical and emotional support available to you and the person you care for.
The person you care for may be entitled to:
There are special rules to help terminally ill people get Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance quickly and easily.
As a carer, you may be entitled to receive Carer's Allowance. You can keep on getting this for up to 12 weeks if the person you care for goes into hospital and for up to four weeks if they go into a care home (provided certain conditions are met). If the person you care for dies, Carer's Allowance will usually stop after eight weeks.
The social services' department of your local trust may provide a range of social care services and equipment for terminally ill people.
An assessment with social services is the first step towards getting help and support for yourself and the person you care for. The person you care for is entitled to a health and social care assessment, while you, as a carer, are entitled to a carer's assessment.
Although friends and family can provide emotional support at this difficult time, you may find it easier to talk to a professional counsellor or to other carers in a similar position. The person you're caring for and other family members may also benefit from counselling.
There may be support groups for carers in your local area. This could give you the opportunity to talk to other people in the same situation as yourself.
If the person you care for needs specialist medical or nursing care to enable them to continue living at home, you can arrange this through their local doctor (GP). Services that may be available include:
Services that are provided by the local trusts may vary from region to region.
Both you and the person you care for may benefit if you can take a short-term break from caring from time to time. This is sometimes known as respite care. You can arrange short-term breaks through your local trust.
If you're caring for someone who needs a lot of care, you may choose to employ a professional carer (or carers) to share the caring role with you.
Hospices are residential units that provide care specifically for people who are terminally ill, and offer support to those who care for them.
Hospices specialise in palliative care, which aims to make the end of a person's life as comfortable as possible and to relieve their symptoms when a cure is not possible. Hospices are run by a team of doctors, nurses, social workers, counsellors and trained volunteers. Many hospices offer bereavement counselling.
Hospice staff can sometimes visit people at home and are often on call 24 hours a day. It is also possible for patients to receive daycare at the hospice without moving in, or to stay for a short period to give their carers a break.
There is no charge for hospice care, but the person you care for must be referred to a hospice through their GP, hospital doctor or district nurse.
In Northern Ireland hospice care is provided by:
There may be times when a terminally ill person needs to go into hospital. If the person you care for is coming home after a hospital stay, your local trust will work to meet any continuing health and social care needs. The person's needs should be assessed before they return home and a package of care arranged for them.
If the person you care for needs a level of care and support that cannot be provided in their own home, a residential care or nursing home could be the answer. You can find detailed information about care homes in the health and well-being section of nidirect.
It's natural for someone who is terminally ill to want to sort out their affairs and make decisions about what kind of medical treatment they want (or don't want) at the end of their life. The 'rights and responsibilities' section of NIdirect contains useful information about wills, living wills and the right to refuse medical treatment and resuscitation.
When someone dies, there are some things you will need to do straight away, or within the first few days and weeks. NIdirect includes guidance on what to do after a death.
When someone close to you dies, you may benefit from counselling from a specialist bereavement counsellor. The charity Cruse Bereavement Care can help with this.
If the person you care for dies, Carers Allowance will usually stop after eight weeks. If your spouse or civil partner has died, you may be able to claim one or more of the following bereavement benefits:
Caring for someone