Hospice Appeal Week 08

HOSPICE ‘THE ESSENTIAL HEALTH SERVICE’ THAT STRUGGLES TO STAY FREE-OF-CHARGE

“While death is inevitable, dying unsupported is unacceptable”.

That’s the message hospices around the country want New Zealanders to embrace this month.

Hospices cared for 10,748 or 38 per cent of all New Zealanders who died in 2007. It cost $59.5 million to provide these services. All care and support was free.

The Government provided $33.2 million which covers only 55% of the day-today running costs. The shortfall of $26.3 million, plus any capital expenditure cost, had to be raised from the community.

“It is not acceptable to have a vital health service dependent on the good will of the community,’’ says Hospice NZ President Wilf Marley. “No essential health service has this kind of funding pressure. It would be wonderful if we could get on with what it is we do so well, caring for people who are dying and their families.’’

He says the ongoing challenge for hospices is to enhance their relationship with District Health Boards and central Government, ensuring the Government develops a sustainable funding strategy for hospices which treats them on the same level as other health service providers.

But in the meantime the nation’s 32 hospices are working together in the hope of raising $500,000 during the Hospice Appeal Week 12-18 May. The campaign’s theme is about making life the best that it can be.  

This community fundraising effort is crucial at a time when the need for hospice has seen demand soar in the last year. The majority of people cared for have cancer, however the number of people with non-malignant conditions such as motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis and heart failure is increasing. Younger people too, including those under 40, are seeking hospice support more and more.

Hospice NZ CEO Mary Schumacher says the goal of hospice is that everyone, no matter their culture, social standing or financial means, should have the best palliative care at the end of their lives. But right now there are a lot of people who don’t know about hospice or think that it is a scary, depressing place.

“Our aim is to dispel some of those myths and let people know that hospice is not a building, but a philosophy of care that’s treats not just the physical but a person’s emotional, spiritual wellbeing,’’ says Mary Schumacher.

She says continued support from the community is vital to hospice staying free of charge.

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