Palliative Care Department Community Volunteer Project

Taking Action in the Community

Assess:
It was clear through working within the hospital and hearing stories from patients that once they were discharged from hospital there was little follow-up care for the terminally ill.  When visiting homes we discovered terrible living conditions for dying patients and terrible suffering.  So we began working with community members to identify patients who needed holistic care and symptom control.  Community members were better able to understand and communicate the often complex family and community relationships in a culturally appropriate way.  It was clear that to reach needy patients we needed to involve local people with local knowledge.

Plan:
We involved the local health centers and religious establishments in identifying volunteers who were held in high regard by the community.  We intend to provide exemplary health care to the terminally ill to relieve the suffering of patients and their families.  We wish to see suffering reduced by identifying and caring for more patients.
Our team offers inpatient and outpatient care within the hospital and goes out to communities to see patients on a daily basis.  Most patients are seen in their own homes as many are too ill to travel.  The volunteers identify patients and provide holistic care in the patients’ homes with the support of hospital staff.

Act:

Our group identified and trained volunteers to provide holistic care to the terminally ill.  We follow up with our volunteers on a monthly basis and support them in going to see the very sick patients.  We are available 24 hours a day for support and advice.  The community volunteers were initially identified through local religious establishments and health centers and then interviewed to determine their suitability.  They were then trained for 1 week before returning to their communities to begin work.

Evaluate:
We evaluated our training through volunteers’ evaluation of the workshops.  We then followed up on our volunteers in the community by asking for patients’ feedback as to the quality of care given by volunteers. In a quantitative analysis we looked at the numbers of patients seen and this showed a dramatic increase.

Sustain:
The palliative care team in the hospital makes visits with volunteers on at least a monthly basis.  During that time we encourage and support the volunteers, provide continuing education and assess their work.  We see patients together with the volunteers.  As the hospital team is permanent we expect the volunteers to continue to function alongside the team.  We will hold a yearly training to improve quality of care and support the volunteers.