IN MY VIEW

I SUPPOSE I expected a lot of sadness in a place where people come to die, but it’s very far from that.

The hospice is focussed on the individuals to make the best of living, and the atmosphere in the hospice is quite surprising. It’s very uplifting.

People often think that you come into a hospice to die. But 50% of people will be discharged. They come for rehabilitation, pain management and that sort of thing.

We also have a day hospice. Not everyone stays over. We offer complimentary therapies like massage and there’s even a hairdressing salon.

We had a retired engineer, a real man’s man, who joined a silk boutique tie-dying class, and loved it. People get a lot of fulfilment out of creative art which often they’ve never done before.

We often say that these are not the last days of your life because you’ve been diagnosed with a terminal disease. You may have another year of life, or longer. It’s very unpredictable.

It’s not about how long you’ve got. It’s about looking at the time you have left with your loved ones, which is a very precious.