For immediate release

17 Sep 2009

Hospice Revamps Day Care Facility

Hospice South Auckland today announced plans to extend its Day Stay facility and provide ambulatory care services at Totara Lodge in Manurewa.

Day Stay is a support and companionship programme held at Totara Lodge, which offers an opportunity for patients to socialise in comfortable surroundings. The Day Stay programme includes a hairdressing service, therapeutic massage and beauty therapy. Patients are transported to and from Totara Lodge by volunteer drivers. Morning tea and lunch is provided.

At present two programmes are offered each week and this will be extended to three programmes a week when the redesign is completed. An improved kitchen layout will give a bigger food preparation area and a sunroom extension will provide greater flexibility to the programme currently available.

As part of the redesign of the Day Stay facility a fit-for-purpose specialist Ambulatory Care Unit (ACU) has been included. It will include 3 specialist clinic rooms and will integrate all Hospice out patient services within one location. Many treatments of terminal patients do not require admission and can be managed without admission to the Hospice. These treatments, including blood transfusions have in the past required hospital admission.

Palliative care provision is increasingly focusing on interventions which can be implemented in an out patient setting. This enables the patient to remain at home with visits to the Hospice for a day to access the specialist procedures described above. This promotes the patient’s independence and ensures timely and accessible services.

“The original Day Stay building was completed in 1999 but we have found that with more complex patients needs we were having to utilise in-patient beds and lounges for ambulatory care treatments, which was most unsatisfactory”, said Clinical Director, Dr Willem Landman. “With three clinics available this will allow Hospice staff to plan and undertake an increased number of day procedures without the need to allocate an IPU bed for the day of the procedure, freeing up beds for residential patients. Specialist palliative care out patient sessions will also be held within the ACU increasing the timely access of patients to the medical specialist,” he added.

The redesign of the interior of the Day Stay building will give the clinical and nursing teams’ greater flexibility and allow more complex treatments to be provided.

Chief Executive, Gary Sturgess, today announced that Pub Charity has donated $199,300 needed to complete the alterations. With more than 20 years history of raising funds for organisations New Zealand-wide, Pub Charity is a charitable trust committed to supporting Kiwi communities, “We are so grateful to Pub Charity for these funds which will provide a much needed facility for the South Auckland community”, Mr Sturgess said.

The successful tenderer was Hawkins Construction Limited and the building alterations will commence at the end of September.

The ACU will require fit-out with specialist medical equipment upon completion. Funding plans to assist with the fit-out of the equipment required to operationalise the ACU are also underway.

ends

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