Hospis Malaysia


Where Does Palliative Care Come In?
Palliative Care must work alongside the medical aims of curative treatment. It would be in the best interest of the patient to receive both forms of treatment, as Palliative Care and curative treatment complement each other. As the emphasis on curative measures declines, a corresponding rise should be administered by Palliative Care providers. It is important to know that Palliative Care is more effective when patients are seen earlier in the case of their illness rather than in the last few weeks of their life. Early referrals of patients should be practised so that they will be spared much suffering caused by the pain and other distressing physical and emotional symptoms.
What is Palliative Homecare?
Hospis Malaysia's main Palliative Care activity is its homecare programme. We have specially trained Palliative Care Nurses to attend to patients and their families in the privacy of their homes. Palliative Care services include: assessment of patient's medical, psychosocial, emotional and spiritual needs. The family's well-being is also looked into. symptom control, both physical and psychosocial,educating patients and his/her family. offering support mechanisms such as patient aids, volunteers to be available at all times, providing constant reassessment and prophylactic planning to prevent problems. However the services do not take over the responsibility of caring for the patient. This should remain with the family.
What is Palliative Day Care?
Hospis Malaysia has introduced Palliative Day Care services to patients who are still physically mobile. Our day care offers patients a line of support to complement the home and hospital environments. Our Day Care focuses on: enhancing the quality of life by attending to every aspect of a patient's and his/her family's needs providing a vital source of respite care providing social stimulus to eliminate boredom and isolation providing a change in environment facilitating creativity and personal development providing diversional and comfort therapies providing treatment opportunities such as physio and occupational therapy
Who Do We Serve?
Hospis Malaysia accepts patients whose diseases no longer respond to curative treatment. Most patients referred to us are afflicted by: Cancer of Various Origins Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Progressive degenerative neuromuscular disease Single or multiple organ failures with limited life expectancy
How Can A Patient Be Referred?
It is important to understand that to facilitate and ensure the acceptance as a patient of Hospis Malaysia, it is best that a referral is provided by a specialist or a family doctor. Such referrals ensure that all relevant medical information about the patient is available to the Palliative Care Team. Referral forms are available at our office.
What Other Services Do We Offer?
Apart from our homecare and day care services, we also lend medical equipment and patient-aids, such as oxygen cylinders and concentrators, beds, syringe drivers, commodes, walking aids and others to patients without charge. Assistance from volunteers may also be organised. A bereavement support service is also made available to relatives of patients. Hospis Malaysia hopes to offer a Palliative Care out-patient clinic in the future.
What Happens Once a Referral Is Accepted?
Once a patient is accepted, a Palliative Care nurse will be assigned to manage the day-to-day care of the patient. The patient and family are visited, assessed and are provided with an explanation of their respective roles. Areas of concerns and a plan of management is formulated. Frequent reviews of the cases are also conducted. Frequency of visits to each patient will be decided by the assigned nurse in accordance with the needs of each patient and his/her family. Out-of-hours calls will be dealt with by an on-call Palliative Care nurse. Upon death of a patient, a nurse will conduct bereavement visits. Once a case is closed, a discharge summary will be sent to the respective referring doctor.
Which Areas Do We Cover?
We currently provide a homecare service for the community residing in the Klang Valley, namely those in Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur.
How Can I Become A Volunteer?
We welcome volunteers who are committed to the services provided by Hospis Malaysia. Volunteers can be involved in general administrative work during our office hours, help in patient related activities or assist in the publicity and fundraising efforts organised. We provide training for volunteers. Please contact our office for further details.
How is Hospis Malaysia Funded?
Hospis Malaysia does not charge its patients any fees for the services or loan of equipment. Hospis Malaysia requires about RM850,000 per year to ensure our daily Palliative Care activities are managed well. We rely heavily on contributions received from the goodwill of the public and corporate companies, while at the same time, we organize various fund-raising activities to fund our operations. As a charitable organization, we will issue Tax-exempt receipts for all donations/contributions received. If you would like to make a donation, please download our donation form!

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