Palliative Care Unit

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This regional service comprises three medical specialists, two registrars, and six specialist nurses. It also has its own clerical support and functions within the Oncology Unit of Waikato Hospital. Most of our work in this area is supporting primary palliative care, which is general practice and district nursing. Waikato Hospice provides a nursing service for Hamilton city and a non-clinical supportive service for the wider region.

Palliative medicine is about the management of patients with active, progressive far-advanced disease for whom the prognosis is limited and the focus of care is quality of life. From this, you will understand a lot of the medical business is symptom control and the non-medical business is holistic care, helping patients to achieve and maintain their physical, emotional, spiritual, vocational, cultural and social potential, despite perhaps the limitations of disease progression.

Palliative care recognises dying as a normal process; it neither hastens nor prolongs death.  Palliative care practitioners are strong opponents of euthanasia as we value this phase of life. Undoubtedly palliative care grew out of hospice care which some considered a euphemism for terminal care. The problem with terminal care was its definition. Palliative means to care for, recognising that cure or even long-term control of disease is no longer possible and that quality of life is the priority. We aim to prevent the patient from some of the troublesome and distressing symptoms associated with disease progression as a primary aim.

Visit our web site to see our efforts at clinical guidelines for symptom control and to contact our service numbers for further information. We are contactable 24 hours a day via direct line (07) 839 8691; the after hours calls go to our inpatient unit in Ward 25. The ward co-ordinator answers clinical after hours and directs them to the relevant medical staff if appropriate. Doctors wishing to train in palliative medicine should contact the clinical director at the same number.