92 | Tōtara Hospice T T Kelly Deeks Making the world a better place The hospice provides specialist palliative and end-of-life care, at no cost to patients or whānau, across inpatient, community clinic and inhome settings for the communities of South and South-east Auckland. “The holistic approach is important because someone with a terminal illness has physical needs but also emotional, mental, cultural, and spiritual needs.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Tōtara Hospice is responding to rapidly rising demand for its services with referral numbers almost doubling over the past decade, with a major redevelopment and redesign programme called Securing our Foundations now underway to ensure services and facilities can keep pace with community need. The hospice provides specialist palliative and end-of-life care, at no cost to patients or whānau, across inpatient, community clinic and in-home settings for the communities of South and South-east Auckland. Chief Executive Tina McCafferty describes Securing our Foundations as a combined Tōtara and community fundraising investment to enable the reimagining, redesigning and repurposing of our hospice to better meet the growing and changing needs of our diverse community. “Our core purpose is unchanged despite the pressure of growth,” she says. “We exist to make the world a better place for dying people. Our services wrap around the terminally ill person and their whānau, supporting people to manage their illness and approach the end of life with as much independence, quality of life and dignity in dying as possible.” She describes the model of care as deliberately holistic, recognising that end-of-life care extends far beyond clinical treatment. “The holistic approach is important because someone with a terminal illness has physical needs but also emotional, mental, cultural, and spiritual needs,” she says. “We need a broad care team inclusive of rehabilitative, psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual support staff working together.” Tina says demand for hospice services has increased significantly across New Zealand, driven by population ageing, improved diagnostics, and better awareness of the range of hospice services. “The need for hospice care has more than doubled over the past decades and is expected to double again over the next 15 to 20 years. We are seeing more people with more complex needs needing support and at different stages of illness,” she says. Tōtara Hospice now receives about 1400 referrals annually, compared with about 750 in 2017, placing pressure on clinical teams and infrastructure. While most care is delivered in people’s homes, the hospice also operates a 12-bed inpatient unit for those requiring more acute care or periods of intensive support at its Tōtara Hub in Manurewa. Tina says hospice care in New Zealand is often misunderstood as being fully government funded, when in reality it operates as a partnership between public funding and community support. “We are an independent charitable trust, and we work efficiently and innovatively to rise to the challenges of the cost of providing care,” she says. “We work closely with hospitals, general practitioners, aged care facilities, and community providers. We are not part of Health New Zealand; we are a partner to it.” That independence means community philanthropy, fundraising, and social enterprise initiatives are essential to maintaining services. Tōtara Hospice operates retail shops, catering services, and the Aroha Eatery social café, which also serves as a community space designed to reduce stigma around hospice care. “Our Aroha Café helps demystify what a hospice is,” Tina says. “It brings the community in and creates a place where people can connect with us in an everyday setting.” Tina says the strength of Tōtara Hospice’s service lies in its staff, volunteers, and the community it serves. “South and South-east Auckland is incredibly diverse, resilient, and connected. It is our privilege to work alongside people at such an important time in their lives.” To support Securing our Foundations or find out more visit https://hospice.co.nz
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