Charity Factsheet:
Help the Hospices
Help the Hospices is the national charity for the hospice movement and during the last year, has enriched the lives of over 250,000 people. What is a hospice? Hospices care for the whole person, aiming to meet all needs - physical, emotional, social and spiritual. In the 21st century, in the UK, people still die in avoidable pain and distress. In hospices, multi-professional teams strive to provide freedom from pain, and offer dignity, peace and calm at the end of life. Staff and volunteers try to be alongside the person, as a friend for the journey. They aim to help people live life to the full, for whatever time they have left - no matter how long or how short. At home, in day-care and in the hospice, they care for the person who is facing the end of life and for those who love them.
Within hospices you find a range of services - pain control, symptom relief, skilled nursing care, counselling, complementary therapies, spiritual care, art, music, physiotherapy, reminiscence, beauty treatments and bereavement support.
Nearly half of all people admitted to a hospice return home again. The average length of stay is just 13 days. All care is free of charge.
The great majority of hospices are independent, with local charities providing 80% of in-patient hospice and palliative care in the UK.
The Nairobi Hospice was set up 15 years ago and is supported by the independent UK charity 'Hospice Care Kenya'. It provides palliative home care, a day care centre, bereavement support, education and training services, and cares for patients with cancer and HIV/Aids. It also runs a community health project in the slums of Nairobi.
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