The palliative care team includes various groups such as doctors, nurses, psychologists and social workers. Drawing team boundaries is not always easy. While each profession makes their own contribution, there is inevitably some overlap and roles can be blurred. In Figure 1, the area of total overlap represents the point where all team members play a part in caring for the patient and their family. Key points Reaching consensus on the overall aim of promoting quality of life is easy-the challenge is how to implement it 'Difficult' patients can be a source of great stress to professionals, leading to feelings of frustration and disappointment.
Inherent incompatibility exists between some groups because of separate goals.
The most popular methods of making conflict functional within organisations are creating competition and recruiting outside experts. Top of page Meeting the spiritual needs of patients through holistic practice Ann Hopper demonstrates that a practical approach is key if we are to respond appropriately to the spiritual aspect of palliative care Spiritual care is an elusive concept for palliative care practitioners. It raises questions about the response of those not facing life-limiting illness to others struggling to find a meaningful path through suffering. Conscientious attention to detail in daily practice is more than an exercise in the techniques of care. If practitioners want to reach out to patients' spiritual needs, they can best do so through the activities of their everyday practice, since the concept of spiritual care is inherent in the practice of holistic palliative care .