Hospice Taranaki

Are you a Patient or a Carer ? We have great information here to assist you

Carers Group

You are providing a really important role for the patient and we are here to support you

The Carers' Group is held throughout the year and runs six (6) sessions each time.  The weekly meetings will cover a broad range of topics and each self-contained session addresses one aspect of care.  Sessions will be facilitated by members of the Support Services Team and will incorporate a variety of speakers. If you are interested in attending or would like more information, please phone 06 753 7830 and ask for Tarsha Lawrence or Stacey Marshall.  You can also leave a message with our Administrator.  Alternatively you can also reach us by e-mail - Tarsha.Lawrence@hospicetaranaki.org.nz or Stacey.Marshall@hospicetaranaki.org.nz

 For further information, please click here

Support Services

Te Kahu Pairuri Hospice Taranaki provides a range of support services FREE of charge to Hospice patients, their families/whanau and significant others.  The following support services are available.

For further information, please click here

Delirium - Common Questions

For answers to the following questions, and suggestions on how carers may help, please click here

  • What is delirium?
  • Is delirium the same as dementia?
  • Who develops delirium and how long does it last?
  • Delirium can be distressing for others and some suggestions on how you may help
Constipation

For answers to common questions about constipation, finding out what the causes of it are, and treatments available, please click here

Managing Shortness of Breath

Do you notice that if you are having trouble breathing, you become anxious?  When people experience this, it can be so distressing that they start to limit their activities to avoid anything that may cause them to feel shortness of breath or "panicky".  For some ideas to help manage this, please click here.

Coping with Loss and Grief

Grief affects how we think and feel, how we do things and our relationships with other.  For helpful tips on how to cope with loss and grief, please click here

Making a Memory Box

A memory box is a container to hold special things belonging to your loved one that they want to share with someone dear to them.  The things in the box can help your loved one hold on to memories, and can be made for an adult, or a child of any age.  For further information on Making a Memory Box, please click here.

Ending Life Well
A new podcast series to help carers who have been thrown in the deep end caring for loved ones who are dying is now available on all good podcast apps.

The series, created by the specialist palliative care team at Otago Community Hospice and supported by Hospice New Zealand, is the first of its kind in New Zealand.

Otago Hospice CEO Ginny Green says Ending Life Well is a podcast built especially for those caring for someone who is dying.

“Equipping and supporting this huge workforce of carers – unpaid, untrained and in unchartered territory, is one of our most important roles as a specialist provider.

“While we at Hospice care for those who have complex palliative needs, we are well aware that there are others out there dying who do not have direct access to our skilled specialist team.

“This podcast enables us to share our knowledge – our tricks of the trade - with family carers who may be well out of their depth as they go about caring for a loved one who is dying.”

Hospice New Zealand Acting CEO, Wayne Naylor, was happy to support the project, knowing that it would have a meaningful impact for that group of people who are caring for loved ones at home.

The series provides reliable advice and information for carers who may not have the time or headspace to read the on-line resources available to carers. It’s also specifically built around those particular challenges when looking after someone who is dying and the complexities that can arise.

The series was inspired by the Kowhai Programme - a well-established Otago Community Hospice carers education programme - created in response to research done, with carers of people with terminal illness, in collaboration with the University of Otago in 2010.

Ending Life Well was produced by Denise van Aalst, a palliative specialist nurse with over 20 years experience.

To listen to the Podcasts, please click here.