Palliative care is the proactive and holistic management of patients with significant illness that is unresponsive to curative treatment. The primary care team can play a vital role in palliative care. GPs will see patients at all stages of their illness, from the initial symptoms, through the early stages when although a poor prognosis has been given the patient may feel reasonably well, up to death. The aims for primary care teams are those set out in the Gold Standards Framework for palliative care.