Palliative care (PC) is an important, indispensable and integral part of medical care of patients with incurable diseases, and it is performed at all levels of healthcare system. Comprehensive care of palliative patients is provided by a multi-professional team, which resolves physical, psychological, social and spiritual problems faced by palliative patients and their families. The main goal is to ensure the best possible quality of life. PC recognises life and death as natural processes.

Paliativna oskrba (PO) je pomemben, nepogrešljiv sestavni del zdravstvene oskrbe bolnikov z neozdravljivo boleznijo in se izvaja na vseh ravneh zdravstvenega sistema. Za celostno oskrbo paliativnih bolnikov skrbi multiprofesionalen tim, ki zagotavlja razreševanje fizičnih, psihičnih, socialnih in duhovnih težav, s katerimi se soočajo paliativni bolniki ter njihovi svojci. Glavni cilj je skrb za čim boljšo kakovost življenja. PO priznava življenje in umiranje kot naraven proces.