GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — Hospice is a movement represented across the globe that believes that every person with a life-threatening condition has the right to quality of life and dignity in death.
Hospice Week, which aims to highlight the role of partnership in providing support and care for people with life-threatening illnesses, was held recently and saw two “Hike and Hobble for Hospice" events, where ordinary members of the community enjoy a 50km walk from the top of the Ouberg to Nieu Bethesda along the scenic farm routes, raising money for Hospice and creating awareness of the organisation, being held locally.
Hospice Week also highlights the importance of an effective partnership between family members, carers, service providers, funders, government departments and other stakeholders as vital to the provision of quality care.
The Graaff-Reinet Hospice group is a registered Non-Profit Organisation and provides a holistic home-based palliative care service to those infected and affected by life-limiting diseases. The main focus of care is to patients suffering from HIV and AIDS, cancer, TB and motor neurone disease.
Their services extend to four towns in the Dr Beyers Naude Municipality (Graaff-Reinet, Aberdeen, Jansenville and Klipplaat) and are available to the entire community, regardless of gender, age, ethnic group, religious persuasion or financial status. The dedicated caregivers walk from house to house in extreme Karoo weather conditions providing care and support where it is needed most, in the patients’ own homes.
The full-time professional nursing sister travels to the outlying towns each month to oversee the care of the patients, to deliver medical supplies and food parcels and to monitor, encourage, and support the staff based there. At present, the Hospice has 157 registered patients on their books, ranging in age from three years to well over 80. As most of the clients live below breadline, poverty relief is also provided where possible in the form of material support (but never in cash): each patient receives a basic monthly food parcel; medical supplies and equipment are issued when necessary; and donations received from the community are distributed appropriately. Recently they were blessed to receive several bags of clothing from the Country Mouse “40 bags” programme, which were very welcome.
In an interview with nursing services manager, professional nurse Sr Loretta Wiehahn, she stressed the emphasis that is placed on palliative care in the work of Hospice. “All of our full-time nursing staff are trained in palliative care, which is very different to standard nursing” explained Sr Wiehahn. “We aim to bring quality of life to the patients and their families in a holistic way, offering support and training to the family carers as to how to manage crises that will inevitably occur towards the end of a patient’s life.” Seemingly small problems that can escalate if untreated, such as pressure sores in bedridden patients, can be avoided if their family members who are caring them are shown some basic preventative measures. Carers are also taught how to deal with the extreme pain that is also suffered by patients near the end of their life, and Hospice can provide a syringe driver to deliver medication directly under the skin during these final days.
Sr Wiehahn and Sr du Plooy, the two professional nurses with Hospice, are at present studying a specialist course in palliative care at the St Francis Hospice in Port Elizabeth. Every second month they spend a week in PE, and also have to complete assignments and study for exams in their own time. This specialised training, which they in turn pass on to their carers and nurses, is invaluable when dealing with the terminally ill.
Many of the Hospice’s patients are children suffering from HIV who are not at this stage ill, but they are their families need constant support. Most often, these patients are in the care of an aunt or grandmother, as they have lost their parents to aids. Nursing staff have the important job of educating the children and their families in the importance of taking the prescribed medication every day, despite the lack of symptoms.
Making sure that patients take the correct medication is also a major part of the Hospice nurse’s work. Many of the patients have been seen by the local clinic or hospital, as well as the oncology department in Port Elizabeth. This can lead to confusion with medication, as both places will prescribe eg blood pressure medication for a patient, who does not realise that it is the same drug and will take both. This hands-on practical care is invaluable for the patients’ general wellbeing.
A final plea from Sr Wiehahn is that patients should be referred to Hospice as soon as possible after their diagnosis, so as to be able to benefit most from the holistic care and support for both the patients and their family members who care for them.
Camdeboo Hospice instils a sense of hope in the lives of people during all stages of their illness from the initial diagnosis onwards. Patients are helped to live the best quality of life possible even during the course of their illness and the Hospice also encourages and supports their families and household members.
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