Actually, no. Hospice helps people to celebrate and live life until death is near; and then helps people to experience dignity until they take their last breath. Quite a tall order – dignity in death.
How can a person have dignity if their bodily systems start to fail or if they are confined to a bed or if they cannot help themselves anymore? Protecting dignity is second nature for trained hospice nurses.
Sometimes it lies in the smallest thing, such as making sure that the sick person’s moisturizer is applied, or their hearing aids are inserted. Because they still matter. Dignity can be found in bigger things, such as providing a wheelchair so people can be mobile. People do not have to be able to walk to be part of the family – a wheelchair can help to make them mobile, so they are not excluded from social interactions.
To me, dignity means that I ask the patient: “What is it that I can do for you to make your life better?” For me it is that I listen and hear. One of the things that people want to know is that their opinion still matters; that their lives have brought meaning and that it still does.
Prof Harvey Max Chochinov, a psychiatrist from Manitoba, Canada, said person-centred care is to do unto patient as they would want done unto themselves. That is how we preserve dignity.
Ask yourself: What is dignity to me? How would I like to preserve my dignity? And then ask it of your closest friends and family. Answers may surprise you!
Some Frequently Asked Questions:
Who qualifies for hospice care?
Anyone diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
What is a life-threatening illness?
Examples are: cancer; organ failure (heart-, lung-, liver- and kidney failure; Motor-Neuron Disease; Multiple Sclerosis; AIDS; TB; Dementia and others.
Is hospice care only for rich, white people?
Hospice care is for any person, regardless of race, age, religion or creed or belief, whether rich or poor.
To find out more about Hospice, contact Landi Bezuidenhout on 079 542 8163 or send an email to ceo1@nelspruithospice.co.za, or visit 84 Ferreira street, Nelspruit.
