Palliative Care
Our mission is to provide specialist palliative care to people experiencing the impact of a life-threatening illness, to assist family/care givers through this experience and to bring solace to those grieving the death of a loved one.
Palliative Care at Our Lady’s Hospice is delivered through four different but interrelated services: The In-patient Unit, Day Hospice, Homecare and in the Acute Hospital setting.
We view Palliative Care as both a philosophy and a practice directed towards improving quality of life for people living with advanced life-threatening illness. The focus of care is person centered, aimed at promoting comfort, autonomy and rehabilitation. We affirm life, while integrating the physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of care, particular to individual needs. We encourage advanced planning rather than crisis intervention.
Our services are tailored to meet the varied and complex needs of patients and their families throughout the advanced and terminal stages of illness. This requires a multi-professional team with a broad mix of skills, including medical and nursing, social work, pastoral and spiritual care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, complementary and creative arts therapy and pharmacy, which we can provide at Our Lady’s Hospice.
Palliative Care is defined as an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual. (WHO, 2002).
While the majority of people admitted to the service are living with advanced cancer related problems, we also include people with Motor Neuron Disease and Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
People with other non-curative conditions are admitted on a case to case basis
Palliative Care at Our Lady’s Hospice is delivered through four different but interrelated services: The In-patient Unit, Day Hospice, Homecare and in the Acute Hospital setting.
Our Philosophy
We view Palliative Care as both a philosophy and a practice directed towards improving quality of life for people living with advanced life-threatening illness. The focus of care is person centered, aimed at promoting comfort, autonomy and rehabilitation. We affirm life, while integrating the physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of care, particular to individual needs. We encourage advanced planning rather than crisis intervention.Our services are tailored to meet the varied and complex needs of patients and their families throughout the advanced and terminal stages of illness. This requires a multi-professional team with a broad mix of skills, including medical and nursing, social work, pastoral and spiritual care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, complementary and creative arts therapy and pharmacy, which we can provide at Our Lady’s Hospice.
Palliative Care is defined as an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual. (WHO, 2002).
- It aims to provide relief from pain and other distressing symptom.
- It affirms life and regards dying as a normal process. It intends neither to hasten nor postpone death.
- It integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care. Offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death
- Offers a support system to help the family cope during the patients illness and in their own bereavement
- Uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their families, including bereavement counselling, if indicated
- Will enhance quality of life, and may also positively influence the course of illness
- Is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other therapies that are intended to prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and includes those investigations needed to better understand and manage distressing clinical complications.
While the majority of people admitted to the service are living with advanced cancer related problems, we also include people with Motor Neuron Disease and Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
People with other non-curative conditions are admitted on a case to case basis
