Living with dying
Hospice day care
Hospices aim to meet people's physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. The range of services includes pain control, symptom relief, skilled nursing care, counselling, complementary therapies, spiritual care, art, music, physiotherapy, beauty treatments and bereavement support. All this care is free of charge, often supported by a charity.
Several people with cancer felt that they were relatively lucky to have access to such resources, which are rarely provided for people with other serious illnesses. (Those with motor neurone disease, HIV and AIDs can often get hospice care, but not always).
Many people we talked to attended a hospice day centre for one or more days a week, sometimes over many weeks. Usually, a hospice has written criteria for admission. This policy identifies those patients for whom the service is provided. The patient's and family's needs are usually assessed before admission to day care (see also 'Insufficient hospice care').
A man with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis said that demand for places at his centre was heavy, but said that he might be able to increase from one to two or three days if he needed to. Some people spent time as in-patients too (see 'Hospice in-patient care').
Nearly everyone said that at first they were very apprehensive about attending a hospice, but had been very pleasantly surprised by the happy atmosphere and the wonderful support they received. Several said that the public image of hospices needs to change -they are definitely not dreary and gloomy places with people sitting about waiting to die. Rather, they are described as creative havens where people go to enjoy living and get to know others in an accepting and supportive environment.
Many of those who work in these settings have a firm religious faith and some have chapels or provide religious services for those who want to attend. However, this was not compulsory and staff do not push their religion on people who are not interested.
Some of the nurses at the hospice are quite religious but do not push it on those who do not want...
Some of the nurses at the hospice are quite religious but do not push it on those who do not want...
You know, they... if someone says, "Oh I really would like to do such and such" if they can organise it, it's organised.
They have lots of different groups like I go to the creative writing group. I know there are other discussion groups and art groups and things, but the creative writing group... the tutor who runs that is absolutely fantastic. I mean, I don't think that group would be as good if it wasn't for her. She really has made this group - I think she's a wonderful tutor and a wonderful person, as they all are.
I have nothing bad to say about the people at the hospice.
A 51-year-old woman with breast cancer managed to find a hospice which had a special day for younger people. She found sympathy, support and medical help. She also tried various complementary therapies, such as art therapy, which helped her cope with the shock of the diagnosis. She enjoyed her days at the hospice, but found it hard watching others deteriorate and “pass on”. Another woman had been less fortunate - she found herself in the company of much older people, which she didn't like. Some of the other patients wanted to “offload” their problems onto her, making it even harder for her to cope.
She found the staff very supportive and enjoyed the activities but found it hard watching others...
She found the staff very supportive and enjoyed the activities but found it hard watching others...
Great support and I still go there and you're assigned a nurse and they are so supportive and sympathetic and I've done art therapy and I have acupuncture and they offer other alternative therapies and what I discovered quite early on after the second or third art therapy session, was that I've been in shock and once you've discovered that then you can go on to the next stage and it took me a long time to get over that shock but you are, you're in shock for a long time.
The worst thing about going there is that you do see people pass on and that is hard because again you are faced with the reality of why you are there.
So if you were talking to someone like I said earlier, about what help they should seek it, are you saying that you would recommend it?
I would yeah.
The contact with the Macmillan nurse and the hospice?
And the hospice and the other patients as well because they're very supportive. They know what you know. We're all going through the same thing in trying to cope with this disease and you know, as I say, the worst bit is watching people deteriorate. At the moment there is a lady who is great fun and she's not well and you know it makes me quite sad because she's a nice lady and I've known her for a year now and that is hard but it's part of being there unfortunately.
A man with colorectal cancer advised other people to attend a day centre because he was sure that a day out could help people to forget their troubles. He had always found something to do, such as gardening, or a 'bit of joinery'.
He enjoys going to the hospice - there are always things to do such as gardening or joinery.
He enjoys going to the hospice - there are always things to do such as gardening or joinery.
Well it gives you things to do. I mean you could tend to just half the time just be lazy, just lay about the whole day like, doing nothing like you know, but going to the Marie Curie, they've always got something for you to do.
They've got extensive gardens. If you're a bit of a gardener you can do gardening. If you're a bit of a joiner, they have you making the seed boxes and there's various things for the women'
Another man said that if he wanted he could have a bath or a jacuzzi at the day centre, but he preferred to chat to the friends he had made since he had been there. He remarked that friendships can grow very quickly in this environment.
One woman had benefited from creative writing and poetry, which the staff at her hospice taught and encouraged. She also spoke about the love and laughter she encountered each time she attended.
To her the hospice is a happy, loving place where she has learnt to write poetry.
To her the hospice is a happy, loving place where she has learnt to write poetry.
That's right, that's right.
Do you think you do that because there's not that many people around to talk to?
It came to me, well I wasn't doing poetry first of all. I never think I could do poetry because I used to like it, and I... but I write. I was writing my life story from when I left Jamaica and then I revert back to my childhood and then I write it up to my illness, that's when I started. And then, as I said, at the day centre they said to me, "Are you going to bring some creative writing?" and I jumped at the idea. And she said to do poetry and I said, "No I can't do poetry" so she gave us the tree. "Write about the tree, write about the bed". And she said, "Look at the one who can't do poetry" and it started from there.
What does the hospice day centre do for people?
It's a happy place. For me it's love. You get love. From when you walk in until you come out its love. I'm not saying people are not people. You get love.
Who do you get the love from?
The staff. And as I said, really as a patient, although you may not sit and communicate that much we really. We really don't have time to communicate over illness, cos you've been laughing, you been talking you don't have time to discuss your illness. Really, So much going on.
What's going on?
Well, you have... you test your brain, you know, your IQ. Like, you know, every day you got something different testing you. What you remember from what you remember. Singsong. People come in and talk to you and sing for you, and the staff themselves sometimes you know. You get excited cos they're all dressed up in the Georgian days... It's exciting.
Good.
You love to go, you want to go. I don't miss one day. Not unless I can't go. I'm sick.
Another woman pointed out that when she visited her hospice she could have reflexology, try various crafts, have her nails done and hair 'titivated', have a drink, or simply sit and sleep. She also felt that the staff and the other patients had helped her to come to terms with her own impending death.
Day centres do not appeal to everyone. Some were aware of people who had visited to look around and never came back. One woman said that she was not a 'day-centre person' because she did not want to do basketwork or painting and that she had plenty to do at home when she was well enough to look after herself. She also said that she didn't want to chat to others or know about other people's illnesses.
Although everyone who attends a hospice day centre has a serious illness, several people said that they tend to talk about other 'lighter' matters - perhaps being sensitive to others who are more unwell. However, this sensitivity, combined with being kept busy, could sometimes deter those who wanted to talk to other patients about how they felt.
Last reviewed July 2017.
Last updated August 2014.
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