What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is a health care approach that aims to improve the quality of life of people, who together with their families, are facing a life-limiting illness.
Palliative care is the relief of suffering through identification, assessment and management of pain and other distressing symptoms, whether physical, emotional, social, spiritual or cultural in origin.
The Department of Health (DoH), in its effort to bring “health for all” by 2020, has embarked on the restructuring of primary health care services (see National Dept. of Health strategic plan for 2015-20).
The DoH new model focuses on illness prevention and health promotion at a community level, with a good referral network that directs community members in need to the appropriate primary health care service.
This model has, however, created a gap in the health care system, specifically a gap for people who are already ill and cannot access health care services. It is this gap that we are committed to filling, while continuing to lobby government regarding the need for compassionate end-of-life care.
When a loved one is diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, they often return home from hospital to families that aren’t equipped with the knowledge and resources to provide appropriate care.
Our Hospice Plett programme provides holistic palliative care and support to patients that have been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, in the comfort of their own home. Our team of trained Professional Nurses, Social Worker and carers strive to improve the quality of life of each patient and provide them with as much comfort and dignity as possible. We work in full co-operation with the patient’s doctor, specialist or clinic to provide pain and symptom control. Care and support is also extended to the patient’s family, and includes bereavement care and support to children affected by the circumstances.
This service is offered free of charge for those with medical aids that cover home-based care. We have professional nurses on call 24/7 who will assist patients and families over the phone after office hours and over weekends.
Our professional nurses assess and manage every patient’s physical symptoms, working in collaboration with the patient, his/her family, physician, or primary health care clinic.
Our Social Worker and Professional Nurses assess the psycho-social needs of patients and their families and provide the necessary support. This includes emotional support, life planning, counselling of patient and family, memory work, legal and financial support in terms of assessment of needs and referral to appropriate structures e.g. wills, government welfare grants.
Our team of trained, volunteer care supporters assist patients and family members through emotional support and counselling.
Children are often the most vulnerable should a parent or caregiver fall ill or pass away. We assess each child in a patient’s household to ensure they receive the support they need.
The support given to these children includes: assistance with access to welfare grants; school uniforms and fees; extra lessons for learners who struggle at school; referral to play therapists who help them to deal with their difficult circumstances; assistance with the legal processes concerning adoption and foster care; assistance in communicating their needs/fears/questions to their families.
Our Social Worker and Professional Nurses asses the spiritual needs of patients and their families and provide care in collaboration with the patient, their family and their spiritual community.
We view bereavement as a normal reaction to loss and therefore provide bereavement support to patients who are grieving the loss of their health, their role in the family, their future hopes and dreams. This support is extended to the family and continued after the death of the patient.
We offer patients the use of a vast array of medical equipment, such as hospital beds, egg-box mattresses to prevent pressure sores, sheepskins, wheelchairs, commodes, syringe drivers, suction machines, oxygen concentrators, shower/bath chairs and much more. The use of this equipment is free of charge for patients.
Community members who are not registered patients of Hospice Plett may rent the equipment. See a comprehensive list of equipment for rent with a price-list here.
Incontinence wear is provided to patients at a subsidised rate of R 200/pack. Small to Large diapers come in packs of 30 and X-Large diapers in packs of 14.
Community members who are not registered patients of Hospice Plett can buy incontinence wear and linen savers from us at cost price. See price list for incontinence wear here.
We provide indigent families with food parcels until government social assistance is organised. Clinical nutritional support is provided to patients who are unable to eat normally or have been severely malnourished.
Should a patient require 24-hour private home nursing carers, our professional nurses provide a supervision and oversight role to ensure the care rendered by private home-based carers is appropriate and of high quality. We assist the patient and family in the appointment of private home-based carers, drawing on a database of private carers who have the required training and experience and/or working in collaboration with Home-based Carer agencies.
Should a patient or family member express any need that Hospice Plett does not have the resources to assist with, the patient or family member will be referred to an appropriate service provider.
Our carers live in the communities they serve. This ensures a greater level of trust and confidence between patients, families and carers. It enables us to provide culturally appropriate care and enhances the patients’ compliance with treatment. The level of trust established between patients and carers also ensures that carers are allowed to discuss the needs and future care of vulnerable children in the household.
Our carers, nurses and social worker educate families on how to care for their loved ones when they are ill or in pain – empowering patients and families to make informed choices and take responsibility for their health and wellbeing. Educating family members on how to care for the loved ones, improves the health literacy of our communities and compassionate care of vulnerable people in our communities, one family at a time.
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