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Concierge palliative medicine · UK

Palliative care - comfort, control, and care where you choose.

Specialist symptom control and support for serious illness - at home, in a hospice or in hospital, led by consultants in palliative medicine and arranged around the people you love. Alongside treatment, never instead of it.

See indicative pricing
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Why patients choose us

  • 01

    Consultants in palliative medicine

    A named consultant leads - a specialist in symptom control and serious-illness care, working alongside your oncologist or physician rather than replacing them.

  • 02

    Care where you want to be

    Home, hospice, hospital or a mix - we build the package around the place you feel safest, with nursing, equipment and out-of-hours cover arranged, not just promised.

  • 03

    Independent, and free

    We are paid by no provider, so our advice - including when NHS and hospice services are the best answer - is impartial and costs your family nothing.

Indicative pricing

What private palliative care costs in the UK.

Clear, honest ranges across our partner consultants and nursing providers - with equal honesty about what the NHS and hospices provide free. Send the details and we quote firm figures.

In short

A consultant home assessment in our network: £400–£800, arranged within days.

Procedure Indicative range
Palliative medicine consultation (clinic or video) £250–£450
Home visit by palliative consultant £400–£800
Palliative-trained nurse at home (day care) £30–£55/hour
Overnight nursing (night sit) £250–£450/night
Live-in palliative care package £1,600–£3,000/week
Symptom-control review (follow-up) £150–£300
Counselling / family support session £100–£200

Costs depend almost entirely on how much hands-on nursing the plan includes - a consultant review programme costs little, a live-in package considerably more. Hospice care in the UK is free, and we say plainly when NHS and charity services mean you should not be paying. We come back with firm figures within one working day.

The problem

Symptom control without waits, care at home that actually arrives, and plans made in calm.

Serious illness exposes every gap in the system - symptom reviews weeks apart, night-time crises with no number to call, wishes never written down. We close those gaps, fast.

  • Days, not weeks, to comfort

    Uncontrolled pain or breathlessness gets a specialist review within days, and medication changes are checked, not assumed, to have worked.

  • A number that answers at 3 a.m.

    Every home package we arrange includes genuine out-of-hours cover - because crises do not book appointments.

  • Your wishes, written while it is easy

    Advance care planning done early and calmly keeps you in charge of every decision that follows.

The journey

From enquiry to recovery - what happens, in order.

One team from first conversation through symptom control, care at home and the support that continues around your family.

  1. 01

    Before

    You tell us what is going on

    A short, confidential conversation - by form or phone, from you or a family member. The diagnosis, the symptoms causing most distress, and where care is happening now.

  2. 02

    Before

    We come back with a plan

    Within one working day: the right palliative consultant, what a first assessment would cover, which services fit - home nursing, hospice, psychology - and honest prices.

  3. 03

    Before

    First assessment, unhurried

    A long consultation at home or in clinic: symptoms, medicines, what matters most to you, and what you want the months ahead to hold. Family welcome throughout.

  4. 04

    Before

    Symptom control, sorted early

    Pain, breathlessness, nausea, fatigue, anxiety - medication and non-drug approaches adjusted quickly, with response reviewed in days rather than months.

  5. 05

    On the day

    Care at home, built around you

    Palliative-trained nurses, night sits where needed, equipment delivered, and a written plan every professional works from - with your GP and district team kept in the loop.

  6. 06

    On the day

    Advance care planning, at your pace

    What you would and would not want, recorded properly - ReSPECT or advance decisions, power of attorney signposting - so your voice leads every future decision.

  7. 07

    After

    Ongoing review, and support around the family

    Regular consultant review, 24/7 advice lines, hospice admission if ever needed, and psychological and bereavement support for the people who love you.

Typical start: a consultant involved within days of your first message, with home nursing in place inside a week where needed.

When it helps

When palliative care is the right step.

The situations we help with most - and the one that needs your 24/7 line or emergency services today.

  • Symptoms that are not controlled

    Pain, breathlessness, nausea or agitation that current treatment is not touching - the core work of palliative medicine, at any stage of illness.

  • Alongside active cancer treatment

    Palliative care given early, alongside chemotherapy or radiotherapy, improves quality of life - and in some studies, length of it.

  • Advanced heart, lung, kidney and liver disease

    Palliative care is not only for cancer - advanced organ failure carries symptom burdens every bit as heavy, and just as treatable.

  • Dementia and progressive neurological illness

    MND, Parkinson’s, advanced dementia - planning ahead while wishes can still be spoken, and comfort protected throughout.

  • Repeated hospital admissions

    When each crisis brings another ambulance, a proper community palliative plan often breaks the cycle - and keeps you home.

  • Families stretched past their limit

    Carer exhaustion is a clinical issue. Night sits, respite and honest conversations restore the capacity to keep going.

  • Decisions that feel too big

    Whether to have another line of treatment, where to be cared for, what to write down - a specialist who has these conversations daily makes them bearable.

  • Red flag: a sudden, severe change

    New severe pain, sudden breathlessness, spinal cord symptoms or major bleeding in advanced illness needs urgent same-day help - your 24/7 line, out-of-hours team or 999, not a routine appointment.

Procedure options

Palliative care is a whole system of support, not one service.

What each element involves - from specialist symptom control and home nursing to hospices, advance care planning and support for the family.

  • Specialist symptom control

    Pain, breathlessness, nausea, fatigue, itch, agitation - managed by consultants who do nothing else, with medication changes reviewed in days.

  • Palliative care at home

    Consultant visits, palliative-trained nurses, night cover and equipment - a hospital-grade team in your own front room.

  • Hospice care

    Admission for complex symptoms or final days, or day-hospice for therapy and community - we help you understand and access what local hospices offer.

  • Hospital support

    If you are an inpatient, palliative consultants work alongside your existing team - improving comfort without taking anything away.

  • Advance care planning

    ReSPECT forms, advance decisions to refuse treatment, preferred place of care, lasting power of attorney signposting - your wishes, written where they will be found.

  • Psychological and spiritual support

    Counselling for you and your family, and chaplaincy or faith-specific support where wanted - distress is a symptom too.

  • Carer and family support

    Training for hands-on care, respite arrangements, honest prognostic conversations, and bereavement support that continues afterwards.

  • End-of-life care

    When time is short: anticipatory medicines in the home, syringe drivers where needed, and a team whose whole purpose is a comfortable, dignified death in the place you chose.

Our vetted UK network

A small panel of palliative specialists, we picked them.

Consultants in palliative medicine and CQC-registered palliative nursing providers across London and the major UK cities. Introductions are made privately and gently, once we understand your situation.

Selection criteria

How we choose every palliative provider in our network.

A calm, homely private care setting in the UK
Consultant-led palliative medicine
  • Consultants in palliative medicine on the GMC specialist register

  • CQC-registered nursing providers with genuine palliative training, not generic care agencies

  • 24/7 advice and out-of-hours cover written into every home care package

  • Working relationships with local hospices, district nursing and your NHS team

Safety and recovery

What to expect afterwards - honestly.

Palliative care is surrounded by myths that add fear to an already hard time. Here are the honest answers to the questions families most need settled.

  • Palliative care is not giving up

    It runs alongside active treatment, not instead of it. Started early, it improves quality of life, mood and symptom control - and patients who feel better often tolerate treatment better too.

  • Morphine, used properly, is safe

    Correctly titrated opioids relieve pain and breathlessness without hastening death - decades of evidence say so. Doses start low, rise carefully, and constipation and nausea are pre-empted rather than endured.

  • Syringe drivers are a route, not a verdict

    A small pump giving steady medication under the skin - used whenever swallowing is hard, sometimes temporarily. It is a delivery method, not a statement about prognosis.

  • Sedation myths, addressed

    The aim is comfort with as much wakefulness as you want. Drowsiness is managed by adjusting doses and drugs - profound sedation is only ever used for otherwise unrelievable distress, and with consent.

  • Planning ahead protects you

    Advance care plans and powers of attorney are not morbid paperwork - they are how your voice stays in charge if illness ever takes it. We help get them done while it is easy.

  • When to call for help, day or night

    Uncontrolled pain or breathlessness, new confusion or agitation, inability to take medicines, or a family reaching breaking point - the 24/7 line exists precisely for this. Never wait for morning.

Reading your care plan

Your palliative care plan in four parts. Read the last one first.

Wherever care is happening - home, hospice or hospital - the plan your team works from keeps to the same shape.

A UK palliative care consultant talking with a patient and family at home

A quiet reminder

These documents carry heavy words - we go through them with you, gently.

If you or your family would like us to talk through the care plan, the medicines or the advance care planning documents, just ask. There is no hurry and no charge.

  1. 01 Header

    Diagnosis, stage and what matters to you

    The illness in plain language - and, given equal weight, your stated priorities: where you want to be, what you want to avoid, who speaks for you.

  2. 02 Technique

    The symptom plan

    Each symptom, the medicines and doses treating it, the anticipatory medicines in the house, and exactly what to give - and who to call - if things change.

  3. 03 Findings

    The care package

    Who is coming, when, and to do what - consultant reviews, nursing shifts, equipment, and how the team communicates with your GP and NHS services.

  4. 04 Impression

    Your advance care plan

    Read this first: your recorded wishes - resuscitation decisions, preferred place of care, treatment limits - and where every professional can find them at 3 a.m.

Recognised by major UK insurers

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Insurer cover for palliative care varies widely - consultations and some home nursing may be covered, and several insurers offer specific end-of-life benefits, while hospice care is free. We check every route, including NHS continuing healthcare funding, before you spend anything.

Frequently asked

Everything families ask us about palliative care.

Quick, honest answers on what palliative care is, treatment alongside it, dying at home, costs and the NHS.

  • What is palliative care - and is it the same as end-of-life care?

    Palliative care is specialist care focused on relieving symptoms and improving quality of life in serious illness - pain, breathlessness, nausea, anxiety - for you and your family. End-of-life care is one part of it, for the final weeks and days. Many people receive palliative care for months or years, often alongside active treatment.

  • Does accepting palliative care mean stopping treatment?

    No. Palliative care runs alongside chemotherapy, immunotherapy, heart failure treatment or dialysis - its job is to make you feel as well as possible while other teams treat the disease. Landmark research in lung cancer found early palliative care improved quality of life and, notably, survival.

  • Can I be cared for - and die - at home?

    Usually, yes, with the right package: palliative nursing, night cover where needed, anticipatory medicines in the house, equipment, and a 24/7 number your family can call. Most people say they would prefer to die at home; proper planning is what turns that preference into what actually happens.

  • How much does private palliative care cost in the UK?

    A consultant assessment is £250–£450 (home visits £400–£800). Palliative-trained nursing runs £30–£55 an hour, night sits £250–£450, and live-in packages £1,600–£3,000 a week. Hospice care in the UK is charitably funded and free. We quote firm figures - and tell you honestly where NHS and hospice services make private spending unnecessary.

  • What does the NHS provide?

    A great deal: GP and district nursing, community palliative nurses, hospice care (free, charity-run), and hospital palliative teams - all at no cost. The gaps are speed, continuity and hours of hands-on care at home, which is where private consultants and nursing most often add value. We build plans that use both systems well.

  • When should palliative care start?

    Earlier than most people think - at diagnosis of any life-limiting illness with symptoms or big decisions ahead, not in the final weeks. Early involvement means better symptom control, fewer crisis admissions, plans made calmly, and - the evidence suggests - better quality of life for longer.

Pulse Healthcare concierge

Send us your enquiry

A concierge service for UK private healthcare. We match you with the best vetted clinics and consultants in our network - they then contact you directly.

So we can match you to the right clinician close to you.

We reply to every enquiry within 24 hours (Mon–Fri). Confidential - your details are never shared outside our vetted consultant network.