Fragilité des malades en fin de vie: Place de l'accompagnement dans la démarche palliative

Abstract

While accompaniment constitutes one of the founding and federative pillars of the practice of palliative care, the role of the carer as the individual carrying out this role merits reflection. This article examines this question in the light of three main points: to what extent is a person at the end of their life a fragile person? How does palliative care play its role in the question of end of life accompaniment? What sense do we give to the word accompaniment? We shall argue that accompanying a seriously ill person not only necessarily implicates the actors and observers involved in end of life situations, but should also integrate different declensions of their position, according to the role and missions attributed to each, and that in a spirit of complementarity which must be respected. © L'Esprit du temps.