Hospice: EACH Hospice (Eersterust Association for Community Health)
Written by: Sr M L Theron
Message: Palliative care is a holistic service that supports people’s emotional as well as physical health – and encompasses the emotional health of loved ones walking the journey with the patient.
Seeing the whole person, supporting the whole family
The patient was diagnosed with stage 4 Prostrate Cancer; he contacted me and requested a home visit. The two visits went well.
On the third visit, I observed a behavioural challenge. He was verbally abusive towards his wife in front of my colleague and me. He appeared shaky, unsettled, and not emotionally okay.
I spoke to him privately with compassion, but the behaviour did not improve. As a Palliative Nurse, I recognised that this was not just a physical issue but a holistic one. His illness was affecting him emotionally and psychologically and was also affecting the whole family.
I went the extra mile to support him; I arranged for an Oncology Nurse to visit him to provide information and literature to help him understand the reason for his illness. I also referred him to the Psychologist at our clinic for emotional support.
The outcome has been positive. The wife is now attending counselling sessions with the Psychologist, and the plan is to include the whole family in the session, because there is ongoing tension in the household.
For me, the moral of the story is this: we don’t just visit a patient to check the body. We observe the whole person and the whole family. Palliative Care is about seeing what others might miss and getting help before the family breaks down.
