What is Palliative Care & Hospice

Hospice Cares!

And contrary to sometimes popular belief, Hospice isn’t about dying.
Hospice is about quality of living with an illness that can’t be cured.

Since those early days after World War II, when a young British nurse, Cicely Saunders, saw that no meaningful nursing care was available to patients living with a life threatening illness and took up the challenge, the hospice movement has come a long way, and is now known and functioning worldwide – including here in South Africa.

What kind of care is it?
The heart of this specialised category of nursing, known as palliative care, is in giving patients whose illness is not curable, optimum quality of life – by working to keep them as pain and symptom free as possible, as well as emotionally, socially and spiritually supported; and also drawing in those people in their circle of nearest and dearest.

Palliative care is both highly practical and innovative (since every patient is unique), and it springs from great love and understanding of the human psyche. But sadly, patients (and families) often resist reaching out for hospice help, because of the misconception that hospice = death. In fact, there are many long-term patients under hospice home care who are helped to live each day to the fullest – despite their illness.

And, with the patient’s willingness (as the centre of the care team), the best time to contact hospice is earlier rather than later.

Hospice comes to the Patient.
Hospice is also not a place, but rather a philosophy of caring which is taken to patients of all ages (with mainly, but not exclusively, Cancer and AIDS), with no social, financial or racial barriers, by a team of trained and dedicated professionals and wonderful volunteers. However, in-ward care is also available if and when necessary.

No cost to the patient.
Hospices in South Africa fall under a national body, The Hospice Palliative Care Association, of which there are 74 member hospices. St Luke’s Hospice in Cape Town and its 12 community hospices is one member, presently caring for about 900 patients on any given day.

Where does the funding come from?
It may surprise you to know that with only a small percentage of our income comes from the State. Hospices have to raise their own funds from the general public, from companies and trusts through to caring individuals who generously give donations and also remember their chosen hospice in their Wills.

Two words say it all: Hospice Cares – and so do those people and organisations who support hospice.

Benefits of palliative care:

Hospices provide palliative care, which improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing problems associated with life threatening illness.

People of all ages benefit from access to palliative care:

• As a patient

Our patients range in age from late teens to centenarians. More than 25% of our patients are younger than 35.

• Their family members and loved ones

We do not only provide care for the patient, but include their families and loved ones. Palliative care is holistic in nature, focusing not just on physical symptoms, but also psychosocial and spiritual concerns, which affect not only the patient but also those who care for and love them. Social workers and spiritual counsellors assist the patient and their family to address practical issues like ensuring that a will is in place, or arranging care for orphans; and will also engage with them about more esoteric concerns such as the meaning of life and death.
Bereavement counselling is also available to the family and loved ones of a patient for approximately 13 months after the death of the patient.

• And those caring for people facing a terminal illness.

Caring for a person with a terminal illness can be very stressful, emotional and lonely. In some cases, the primary caregiver is trying to juggle his or her career, the needs of his or her own children as well as care for their parent or sister or friend who is approaching the end of his or her life. In some cases, a young adult or child is the primary caregiver. Staff and volunteers at St Luke’s provide advice and teach skills to the primary caregiver so that she or he is better able to care for the patient, and able to care for him- or herself.