Caring for everyone

Many people think of hospice as just a building, when in fact it is a philosophy of care. The hospice philosophy places equal importance on the physical, spiritual, cultural, emotional, and social well-being of a person living with a life limiting condition.

Anyone with a terminal illness, not just cancer, can access hospice care and support. People with life limiting conditions such as multiple sclerosis, lung failure, motor neurone disease, or dementia can benefit from palliative care.

Whilst hospice care is primarily focused on the person who is dying, services are also for the family and whānau both before and after their loved one has died.

Everything we provide is free of charge. As an essential health service the majority of funding comes from Government, the remainder comes from community fundraising. In 2021 hospices needed to raise over $87M nationally.

Whilst the majority of hospice services have inpatient facilities, it is important to know that hospice is not just building; it is a philosophy of care.

Hospice provides palliative care, which is a specialist medical service specifically for people who are dying. Palliative care is very active total care – it is not about giving up and doing nothing.

Palliative care is for people whose illness is no longer curable. The goal is around providing quality of life, managing pain and symptoms to enable people to live every moment in whatever way is important to them. Whilst physical needs like managing pain and symptoms are a priority, equal importance is placed on cultural, emotional, spiritual, and social needs as the end of life approaches. Support is also provided for family and whānau both before and after the death of their loved one.

There are 33 hospices services in New Zealand, covering most parts of the country.

When support is offered

Most often, people are referred to hospice when their illness is no longer curable, when their illness has entered a terminal phase. In some circumstances people may be referred whilst still undergoing treatment – e.g. radiotherapy for symptom management. It is important to talk to your key health care provider about the options available, including hospice care.

Many people feel fearful of accepting a referral to hospice as they view it as the “end of the road”. However in most cases we hear people say they wished they have become involved with hospice sooner.

End of life care does not mean doing nothing and just letting someone die, it is not about “giving up”. Stopping a treatment does not mean no treatment, palliative care is very active total care.

How to access support

There are two main ways to be referred to hospice for support – through a health care provider (hospital team, G.P, aged care facility) or self referral.

Please talk to your health care provider or care team about gaining a referral to hospice or you can contact your local hospice

service directly or on behalf of your loved one or friend to find out more about the referral criteria in your location.

What does it cost?

All care and support provided by hospice is completely free of charge to people using our services.

As an essential health service hospice services receive the majority of funding from Central Government, it costs around $170M each year to provide the care we do. Fundraising plays an important part in keeping services free of charge. Each year we need to raise around $81.5M from the