Improving quality of life

The last few days, I've been spending some time with an incredible group of people. These are men and women who work in hospices, in the field of palliative care.

The term 'Palliative Care' is not yet widely understood, but it should be. Palliative Care is a special type of care, aimed at improving the quality of life of patients and their families facing problems associated with life limiting illness. It focuses on preventing and relieving suffering.  The most important aim of palliative care is to relieve pain -- physical pain, as well as emotional and spiritual distress.

Hospices are organisations that focus on providing palliative care to members of the community in which they are based -- and the men and women who work in hospices, as I say, are an amazing and inspiring group of people.

These people believe that even when a patient has been told, "there's nothing more we can do for you," there is actually plenty that can be done. Firstly, they believe that everyone has a right to be free of pain -- so they ensure that pain-relieving medication is provided. But more than that, they provide care and counselling to help the patient and her or his loved ones deal with the emotional and psychological distress that comes with a life-limiting disease.

As you can imagine, this is not glamorous work. It's not about curing people, but about improving their quality of life while they're alive. And it's not easy work. It's often about breaking bad news to people, seeing people in pain and distress, and helping people deal with anger, grief and depression.

And yet the people that I have met, who work in palliative care, are caring, inspiring, often joyful people. You see there's a misconception many people have about hospice -- that a hospice is a place where people go to die. Firstly, few hospices actually have in-patients these days. They visit patients and their families in their homes, more often than not -- or provide care at their premises during the day. But more importantly, it's not about death and dying. It's about helping people to live as fully as possible while they are still alive, and helping them come to terms with their mortality.

And while there is a lot of dealing with death and dying, there are also wonderful stories about patients who get stronger and healthier, thanks to hospice and palliative care, and who go on to lead long, full lives.

According to the South African umbrella body, the Hospice and Palliative Care Association (HPCA), there are 70 hospices and 56 development sites in South Africa. and the African continent.  The continental umbrella body is the African Palliative Care Association (APCA), which has its headquarters in Uganda and is   growing from strength to strength under the leadership of executive director, Faith Mwangi-Powell.

Hospice services are free of charge, although those who can afford to, are asked to make a contribution. If you want to find out more, or locate a hospice near you, see HPCA's website at www.hospicepalliativecaresa.co.za, or the APCA website at www.apca.co.ug.