Hospice NZ Standards for Palliative Care
These Standards have been developed by Hospice NZ
to support all hospice services to deliver consistent and
best quality palliative and end of life care for people regardless
of locality and diagnosis.
In May 2019 they launched the fourth version of the
Hospice NZ Standards after an extensive consultation and
review process involving all hospices services in New Zealand.
There are 9 Standards covering things such as assessment of needs,
grief support and bereavement care and culture within an organisation.
The vision for the Standards is that they support hospice services
continuous quality improvement approach to service planning.
In the first instance they are written solely for hospice palliative
care providers, the longer term vision is that other providers of
palliative care across many settings will adopt or use the Standards.
You can click here to view the Standards for Palliative Care 2019.
Palliative Care Handbook for Healthcare professionals
The aim of this resource is to make palliative care understandable
for healthcare professionals, using clear logical layout and
understandable explanations of how to manage and cope with
problems that can be very challenging. It includes sections on dementia,
nutrition and prescribing. The Handbook is useful in any place
where palliative care happens – it gives confidence to those
who use it and therefore hopefully comfort to the people approaching
the end of their lives.
To download a soft copy of the Palliative Care Handbook (9th Edition),
please click here.
Please remember to save your downloaded copy for easy ongoing access.
Please note – to go directly from the table of contents to the section
you wish to find, simply click on the chapter heading and it will take
you straight there.
You can also download specific chapters here:
1. Central Nervous System
2. Pain
3. Gastrointestinal System
4. Respiratory System
5. Skin
6. Systemic effects of terminal diseases
7. Palliative care emergencies
8. Miscellaneous
9. Psychosocial spirituality
10. Useful resources
11. Further reading
We would like to thank Dilmah NZ & the MJF Charitable Foundation for their financial contribution towards this resource.
A Guide for Carers
Are you caring for someone with a life limiting condition?
Sometimes it can be difficult to know what to do or what help
and support is available.
Hospice NZ has designed a helpful booklet to answer some of the
questions or issues that might arise as part of this journey.
It is important to remember you are not alone.
There are few experiences more difficult than caring for someone
at the end of their life. Each of us faces death as uniquely as we
lead our life. We all hope that when death comes it will be as
peaceful and dignified as possible. We also hope we'll face it feeling
comfortable in our surroundings, well cared for and that those
we love are well supported.
Topics covered in this useful guide include caring for a loved one at home,
circles of support, home nursing tips and many other practical matters.
Thanks to the support of the Pub Charity, Hospice EBOP can supply copies of
A Guide for Carers to patients' families.
A pdf of the full booklet is available for download here.
More Patient information handouts available:
Here is a list of links that might be helpful.
Healthline: Free 24-hour health advice
Ministry of Health and DHB contacts
Motor Neurone Disease Association
Prostate Cancer Foundation of NZ
Skylight: grief and bereavement resources