Helping people to die with dignity

The Malacca Hospice, a non-governmental organisation began in mid-1994. It caters for the ever-increasing terminally- ill cancer patients and those with life-limiting illnesses in the state.

Jun 05, 2014

By Percy D’Cruz
The Malacca Hospice, a non-governmental organisation began in mid-1994. It caters for the ever-increasing terminally- ill cancer patients and those with life-limiting illnesses in the state. They are urging for more volunteers and care-givers of different religious backgrounds to help out in its noble cause.

Hospice or palliative care is a form of holistic care for the terminally ill. It provides for the medical and nursing needs of the patient, plus their psychological, social and spiritual needs and those of their families, including bereavement counselling.

According to the president of Malacca Hospice, Brigadier General (rtd) Datuk Dr. N.Rajagopal, a Methodist by faith, there is still a rising need for such care and the country is in dire need of trained people to provide these services.

He said, “We want patients to face death with dignity, with their ‘pain’, be it physical, psychological and emotional, well controlled. We are always looking for more volunteers, as well as care-givers, who will be given theoretical and on-the-job training to prepare them for their tasks within the local community.

It is learnt that while qualified medical doctors and nurses attend to the patient’s medical needs, volunteers and care givers make frequent ‘house calls’ to take the patients for their check-ups, run errands, take care of their personal needs and to just sit and chat with them sometimes.

Trained volunteers also teach the families of the terminally ill on how to care for them during the ‘waiting period.’ They are also trained to help family members suffering from anxiety and depression.

The Malacca Hospice is currently backed by management teams which also double up as care-givers as well as volunteers who are either retired or working full time. Their duties or tasks is coordinated from a call centre within the Malacca General Hospital.

Those interested in volunteering, becoming trained care-givers or wanting to enquire about Malacca Hospice in general, can contact Staff Nurse Chong Fei Gin at H.P. No. 012- 623 5115.

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