The cornerstone of Palliative care is hope. What we have come to expect from medical science has made us believe that hope in health means long term treatment and cures. Yet at some point in our lives we all face death....
So, does hope just disappear?
No. The hope we feel at our own or a loved one's end of life is no longer focused on cure but is focused on
Quality of Life in whatever time that is left. In 1990 the World Health Organization (WHO) stated, "The goal of palliative care is the achievement of the best possible quality of life for patients and their families."
For most people that have been told that their time is limited, no matter what timeline they are given, their desire is to die comfortably in a peaceful place. The most comfortable and peaceful place, for most, would be at home.
The least peaceful place, if not the least comfortable, would be in a hospital. Yet so many die in the hospital setting.
Why?
The most common reasons for patients ending up in hospital for end-of-life care are:-
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Firstly, the patient does not want to be a burden to their family;
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Secondly, the family is unable to give the level of care the patient needs;
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Finally - and most disturbingly - there is just nowhere
else to go in these situations.
The first two reasons, albeit sometimes difficult for patients and families to come to
terms with, are understandable, acceptable, and even noble.
But that third reason is both a problem and a
challenge: there MUST be an alternative!
The Hospice Society of Greater Halifax aims to be
the alternative to dying in hospital.
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