Hospital doctors and GPs must stop treating the disease and start caring holistically for the patient with a life-limiting condition.

This was the message from palliative care expert Prof Scott Murray from Edinburgh University to a conference yesterday on 'Palliative care for all - bridging the gap.'

Prof Murray said said there were four dimensions to caring for the person with a life-limiting condition - physical, psychological, social and spiritual.

Palliative care for all, he said, was not about specialist palliative care for all but involved delivering personalised care which met the four dimensions of care, thinking ahead to prevent unnecessary distress, anticipating care needs and supporting communities and families by valuing carers.

Prof Murray said: "The perception about palliative care is that it is all about cancer and hospices. This needs to be challenged. Some progress has been made internationally in opening people's minds to the fact that most people who need palliative care do not have cancer. But it needs to be highlighted more in the medical community"

"Palliative care should be for all illnesses. We also need to start our care for the patient earlier and not just at the terminal stage of the disease."

The conference was funded by the Irish Hospice Foundation.