Singapore Hospice Council

[ Benefits of hospice palliative care ]

1. Hospice and palliative care is specialized to help patients and their families in a unique way

The issues and problems that relate to life limiting illnesses are very different from that of normal illnesses. When the afflicted patient is not responding to curative treatment, other techniques are used to alleviate the pain the patient undergoes. Hospice and palliative care focuses not just on the disease process, but also on the whole person and his family. Attention is given to relieving pain and other unpleasant symptoms, and on providing psychological and spiritual support where needed.

Although the patient is the focus of care, family members need advice and support to help them cope as well as become more confident and effective caregivers during this difficult time. The hospice and palliative care team works with patients and families to ensure the patient's comfort and dignity. This helps to maintain the highest possible quality of life for the time that remains.

2. Caregiving responsibilities are shared by a team of caregivers

Caring for a dying patient can be physically and emotionally draining. Heaping such responsibilities on a family member(s) who are not trained to manage the patient can cause undue stress to the patient and his family. With a hospice and palliative care team comprising of professionals supporting the primary caregiver or taking over the responsibilities fully, the family of the patient can better manage their lives and ensure quality time with the patient.

3. The level of support can be determined by the patient or his family

Hospice and palliative care can be provided as an additional part-time support to the primary caregiver of the patient, or it can be as extensive as housing the patient full-time in the hospice. Hospice and palliative care is available at all times, and can be reached by patients and their families through a phone call. It is a flexible service that suits any situation, be it one where no family member is available regularly to be a caregiver or where the family wishes to do most of the caregiving and needs only technical expertise in hospice and palliative care.

4. Bereavement support for grieving family members is provided

Dealing with the loss or potential loss of a loved one is difficult. It is often hard to find sound advice and positive encouragement among grieving family and friends during such trying times. Hospice caregivers and volunteers are able to provide moral support in these circumstances and help ease the pain of the grieving process. They focus not just on the patient, but the patient's family as a unit of care.