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One of the key messages that hospice will build on following the opening of Tui House is that the new facility is there for the community.
There is a strong desire to see the various spaces within the building utilised by a range of service providers in the hope that that familiarity will take away some of the fear surrounding palliative care.
Nurse team leader Paula Garner, who grew up in Warkworth, has worked at hospice for 21 years.
“I still get a lot of satisfaction from working in a community where I know a lot of people,” she says. “I stay positive by focusing on what we can do to help families, rather than what we can’t, and hospice can do a lot.”
Paula believes fear is one of the reasons a lot of families don’t seek help as early as they should.
“All too often we get called in when a family is already in crisis and the carer is tired and emotionally distressed. We have to find a way to take away that scary persona we have so we can support families.”
A step in that direction will be the space offered by Tui House to accommodate daytime respite care, patient and carer workshops, social and therapeutic activities, a drop-in cafe and resource library.
“Mixing and talking to people who understand what it means to live with a life-limiting illness can be enormously comforting – both from the perspective of the patient and their carer.
“People sometimes talk of feeling abandoned when they are told there is no further treatment available, and that is just not good enough.”
While those who are well enough to travel to hospice will be encouraged to do so in future, home visits will continue where needed.
Paula says less travelling time will broaden the effectiveness of medical specialists, nurses, social workers, counsellors and support workers.
Tui House is an integral part of hospice’s strategy to meet the demands of growth in the Mahurangi area.
The organisation normally has around 40 patients on its books at any one time, but expects that figure to triple by 2030.
“We know that there is little likelihood that our resources will increase at the same rate, so Tui House is part of the ‘work smarter’ strategy.
“We have done a lot of homework, research and consultation on how best to meet the growing demand for hospice services. A lot of planning and thought has gone in to Tui House and I am very excited to see all that hard work finally come to fruition.”
Paula says she has seen the role of palliative care nurses become more complex over time.
“They are often working on their own which means they have to be extremely skilled in their assessment, while at the same time understanding the stress and distress the family is under.”
