From the Nursing Team Nov 08
When people think of the hospice they often think of it as just a building. Certainly, as our ‘headquarters’ and where many of our staff and volunteers work our facility at Totara Lodge, is a key part of the organisation of Hospice South Auckland (HSA).
But fundamentally the hospice is more than just a building. It is a philosophy of care for people with life limiting illness and their families which embraces the notion of ‘living every moment’. Hospice/palliative care supports the concept of holistic care by viewing the person not only from a physical aspect, but from their emotional, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions as well.
Our goal is to work in partnership with individuals and their families in such a way that they feel supported and able to manage during an extremely difficult time in their lives. To ensure that services to patients are provided in a timely and appropriate manner, HSA provides 24 hour care and support seven days per week.
Ably supported by dedicated and committed support staff and volunteers, the nursing team is an integral part of the clinical multidisciplinary team at HSA and its qualified nurses and care givers provide care in a wide variety of ways and settings.
One aspect of our service is support of patients and families in their own homes. Our Community Palliative Care Nurses (CPCNs) visit patients’ homes, keep in contact with them by phone and sometimes email and support patients in decisions regarding care. Much of the work of the CPCN is to assist in the management of the patients’ symptoms and to provide education about medication use and nursing activities in the home. While doing this they work with the patient and their family in a support role which may include such things as referral to other care giving agencies or to the Family Support Team at HSA for counselling or social work.
The nursing team in the in-patient unit (IPU) provides care to patients who require admission to Totara Lodge for symptom management, respite care or end of life care. There are nurses on duty in IPU 24hrs/day and, like the CPCNs, they provide comprehensive nursing care to patients and support to their loved ones through collaborative practice.
HSA provides a 24 hour telephone helpline service. Patients and families can phone any time and talk to a nurse about any issues which may be of concern.
The nursing team works collaboratively with the patients’ GPs, the District Nursing Service and Home Health Care (HHC) among others, to provide coordinated and comprehensive care. The HSA medical team provides valuable support to nursing staff when planning and managing care.
Sometimes people need extra support at home with practical aspects of care. To assist with this HSA provides caregivers who can attend at the patient’s home. They work with HHC to provide a very valuable service.
Day Stay is an opportunity for patients to meet and mingle in a social and stress free environment. Our Day Stay nurse is supported by an assistant and enthusiastic volunteers to provide an interesting programme of activities and therapies such as massage.
When people are faced with the distress of life limiting illness it may be difficult to feel anything but despair. At HSA we hope we can help in some way to alleviate some of that distress. As a nursing team our aim is to support the patient and their family as they live every moment – and that is a privilege.
Jessie Mravicich
Director of
Nursing
|