Frequently Asked Questions

Most people with us are looked after at home including private homes, retirement villages or aged care homes and are able to choose where they die.  Some people require closer attention, or their symptoms are harder to manage at home and so they will come in for a short-term stay at our in-patient unit (often called the IPU), at our hospice building in Tikipunga, Whangārei.

Generally, people stay between 5 to 7 days and return home when they are ready.  Sometimes we provide what is called respite care, allowing carers some time to focus on other matters, knowing their loved ones are well looked after by our team here.

All the people we look after are reviewed by the whole hospice team every six weeks.  Everyone is regularly updated on your specific progress and well-being to fully understand your individual needs.  It is also an opportunity to review whether you need the specialist support hospice offers, whether that is in the beginning or after a period of treatment or care.  If your condition is felt to be stable, we will talk to you about a possible discharge from our services.

You can be re-referred to us at any time if your condition changes.  This is quite common for people with heart or kidney failure or chronic lung disease.  We mainly provide our support to people with complex symptoms or problems.

Being referred to North Haven Hospice doesn’t always mean death is likely to happen straight away.  It depends on how early your condition was diagnosed.  Hospice care means that a person’s symptoms and illness are complex and often needs specialists to help. Most people are referred to our care when they are expected to live for the next 12 months or less.

North Haven Hospice does not provide assisted dying or allow assisted dying to take place on our premises.  Our way of working is to neither hasten, nor postpone death as we help people understand what is happening to them.  We do respect someone’s right to choose and we remain neutral.  Our support continues regardless of a person’s decision or choice in assisted dying.

We don’t know what it is like to die and everyone is different.  Our goal is to support you and your whānau to live as well as possible for as long as possible, however long that may be, and to allow death to occur naturally with comfort and dignity.  We do not hasten or postpone death, and we help people to understand what is happening. We can tell you what we have seen in our experience.

Our hospice team will support families through and at the death when they are able to, including the next steps to be taken.  We can also explain what to do and who to contact if we are unable to be there.

North Haven Hospice offers support for families and carers experiencing loss and grief following a death.  This can continue for a period of time depending on the individuals involved.

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Our doctors and nurses can explain common changes and signs to help people understand what we usually see, what to expect, and how to keep someone comfortable.  Every death is individual.  We can also help families talk honestly and gently with children in age-appropriate ways when needed.

Sometimes there may be a 2-to-3-week delay in bringing you into our care as we manage the needs of people already supported by us.  This may not always be the case as we can prioritise the type and urgency of need given the particular group of people being cared for at the time.

If there is a high level of urgency, North Haven Hospice works closely with your usual doctor and the local and regional hospital teams.

Someone from North Haven Hospice will make contact to talk more about a person’s needs, explain what we can do and the kind of support we can offer.  We want to get to know the person we’re going to care for and understand what matters most to that person and their family and whānau.  This conversation usually happens at home or sometimes in the hospital.

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A hospice referral usually comes from your doctor, a GP or hospital doctor or in some cases, a nurse.  People can contact us directly about having themselves referred or people’s families or carers can also contact us to learn more.

You can contact North Haven Hospice on 09 437 3355 or email us at clinical@northhavenhospice.org.nz for more information or fill out our self-referral form here https://www.northhavenhospice.org.nz/care-pages/care-at-home

We receive partial government funding and rely on fundraising to cover the full cost of our services.

No.  Hospice care is free of charge for people needing their services, and their families and whānau, in New Zealand.

If it’s free, why do hospices fundraise?

North Haven Hospice only receives partial government funding and needs to raise about $4 million a year to cover all our costs – most of which is the people who do all the specialist care and support you need.  That means we need to fundraise about $12,000 a day to make up the gap.  You do not have to make a donation.  This is voluntary and never affects the care you receive.

Yes. North Haven Hospice supports and cares for people of any age if they have a terminal or life-limiting illness.  You don’t have to be a certain age.  We also care for people with cancer and those who don’t have cancer but may have other conditions.  We put the dying in charge of their living, whoever they are.

Personal care is how we describe daily help with washing, dressing, toileting and eating when needed and is not provided by our hospice staff.  Often family members help but this can become too much for them, and a hospice social worker can guide you through the process of getting this kind of help from other community agencies. Hospice doesn’t provide housework or gardening and home maintenance services.

North Haven Hospice provides a 24/7 service phone line so carers and families can talk to someone if they’re worried about anything or unsure at any time. We’ll also let you know when you should call us at hospice, your regular doctor or an ambulance for emergency services.

We aim to provide culturally safe and respectful care to all people.  We do include tikanga, other rituals and spiritual practices wherever possible and welcome whānau and other spiritual and cultural leaders to be involved with our care and support.

North Haven Hospice supports the role of our Te Tumu Herenga Waka in engaging with all people for their cultural needs, and we offer all families and whānau a poroporoaki ritual escorting the deceased from our building at Tikipunga, Whangārei.

Yes. We can help carers and family with practical advice, emotional support, and reassurance. We help people understand dying and what is happening.  Our hospice community nurses can show families how to manage medication, personal care and what to expect as things change.

Yes. North Haven Hospicecare helps the whole person – mind, body, spirit and family and personalrelationships.  We have social workers, aspiritual care advisor, counsellors and trained volunteers.  We also provide support for caregivers andcan direct where people need to go for help when we can’t supply it.

North Haven Hospice specialises in managing pain and symptoms such as breathlessness, anxiety, feeling sick, exhaustion and agitation.  Our nurses and doctors are experienced in this kind of care and while every person is an individual, our teams have helped many people and their families with these things before.

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Medication is managed by your doctor, with hospice working alongside to support where needed. Some equipment is available from North Haven Hospice.  We have a limited number of community beds, wheelchairs and other specialist equipment.

Yes, they do but only if that is their choice.  A person with a terminal or life-limiting illness can choose to die at home, at hospice, or may die in hospital if an emergency has taken them there.  Someone who chooses to die at hospice may do so for a few reasons and often it’s because they feel the safest there.

Mostly, yes.  North Haven Hospice supports people to die where they choose wherever possible and work closely with family and whānau to make this happen.

Family and whānau are welcome to visit and can stay at hospice with you as we usually have enough room.  You’ll need to talk to our team about this. Airbeds are available for some people to stay overnight and our Matai Room is a communal space with a kitchen, bathroom and living area for family use when they stay.

No. We can support and care for someone for weeks and months and sometimes longer.  Some people don’t need us for a period of time and then come back when they do.  Generally, we look after people that are expected not to live for longer than the next 12 months but there are exceptions.

That’s okay, when you do feel you need hospice we can be there.  The care and support we provide is not just about medicine and “doctoring”.  It is also about helping you with how you and your family might be feeling, it’s about making you feel more comfortable and it’s about you making decisions with good advice.

Research says people that are with hospice benefit from more effective pain management, are less likely to need hospital admission, ambulance callouts or visits to the emergency department.  They are also more likely to be happier, more fulfilled and more at peace.  We also help families so they don’t feel as stressed or exhausted as they might do in other circumstances. People often say they wish they had connected with hospice earlier than they did, but it is always your choice.

Absolutely, you can stay home.  Unlike what a lot of people believe, hospice is not a place where you “go to die” or live until you die.  We don’t have people staying more than a week or so and some people never come to our in-patient unit. Most of our time with you will be spent where you live.  Sometimes people come to hospice to give families time- out, to get pain and symptoms better managed and occasionally it is a place where people choose to spend their last few dying days, but it is completely your choice.

Unlike what a lot of people believe, hospice is not a place where you “go to die” or live until you die.  We don’t have people staying more than a week or so and some people never come to our in-patient unit. Most of our time with you will be spent where you live.  Sometimes people come to hospice to give families time- out, to get pain and symptoms better managed and occasionally it is a place where people choose to spend their last few dying days.  If staying at home is no longer possible, we can help with moving into residential care.

No. We support people for weeks or months, sometimes longer, depending on when they’re referred to us, their needs and what level of care they want.  It’s about living every moment the way a person wants to, for as long as they are able to. A number of people we care for have said they wish they had come to us sooner.  Hospice care can often help with someone’s fears and make them feel seen, heard, and more in control.

No. We care for and support people with any terminal or life-limiting illness and this includes heart, lung and kidney diseases, advanced organ failure, dementia, diabetes, motor neurone disease and other conditions.

Palliative care is part of hospice care. It focuses on improving the quality of life for people. Palliative care is the term used to describe treatment, care and support when an illness is no longer viewed as curable, and someone is unlikely to get better or recover.  Hospices in New Zealand are the specialists in this type of care and focus on helping people live every moment as they wish until they die.

Hospice care is care and support provided by North Haven Hospice alongside your doctor and other health specialists when you have a life-limiting condition or terminal illness.  Our care is not just medical and clinical.  We treat you as a person, not just a patient.  We also give family and whānau support, spiritual and emotional care and information on how to manage this stage of life, who to talk to and where to go.

Hospice care doesn’t mean you have to come to North Haven Hospice to be looked after either.  You can stay at your own place or where you choose to live and we can come to you.

As a community charity, our services are free.  

We are partially funded by the government but need to fundraise every year to meet the remaining costs of operating.  Our services cost $22,000 per day to provide the level of care and support we offer however we are determined to keep our services free for those who need us.

Being referred to us doesn’t always mean that death is likely to happen straight away. It depends on how early your illness or life-limiting condition was diagnosed. Most people are referred to our care when they are expected to live for 12 months or less.

Hospice care means that a person’s symptoms are complex and often require specialist expertise to help.

People in our care are always in control of the decisions regarding their treatment and how they and their family and whānau are supported.

Not normally – most people are looked after at home and are able to die where they choose.

For people who require closer monitoring or whose symptoms are difficult to manage at home, short-term stays are usual at our in-patient unit (IPU), Te Whare Hūmārie, in Whangārei. Most people stay between five to seven days and return home once they are ready. Sometimes we also prove respite care to allow carers some time to focus on other matters, knowing their loved ones are well cared for by our team.”

A small number of people choose to die at North Haven Hospice as they feel secure and well cared with our nurses and doctors around them or they may prefer North Haven Hospice to the hospital for their last few days.

There is a myth that volunteering can affect visa and refugee applications. We have investigated and been advised that volunteering does not affect application status.

It may not be an issue.  We look at all applications on a person by person basis.  NZ Police vetting needs to be done for every prospective cash-handling Hospice Shop volunteer.

Many people with disabilities volunteer. Some of our existing volunteers have visual or hearing impairments, mental health challenges, and intellectual disabilities.

No, not necessarily. Volunteering is a great way to learn new skills while helping your community.  It can keep you connected socially and possibly assist you in finding paid employment.  

For example, 95% of our health care assistants have come from our volunteer workforce and 5% of nurses started out as volunteers.  People from all walks of life have used volunteering as a step to finding their first or a new job.

Yes, we can provide a work reference after a minimum of three months volunteering on a regular basis to show consistent and reliable support.

We have some flexibility depending on the volunteer role.

Our In-Patient Unit (IPU) runs 365 days of the year and shifts here are from 8:00 am to midday, midday to 4:00 pm and 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. We can be flexible with start times if you coming to help after work or study.  If everything the volunteer is required to do has been completed and the IPU is quiet, the volunteer usually goes home early.

Community Support, Life Reflections biographies, and Compassionate Touch massage can be provided during the weekend and depends on volunteer availability.

Once you have completed the required training, the time commitment is what you are able and prepared to give.  We appreciate your contribution and will fit around you where we can.

It depends on the role you are interested in.  All training (including resources) will be provided by our volunteer leaders, Volunteer Services Coordinator, and appropriately skilled people with the required expertise.