Mission

Northern Ireland Hospice Care's mission is to provide a range of holistic in-patient and community specialist palliative and rehabilitative care services in an environment of learning and research, enabling individuals with a life-threatening illness and their families to maximise the quality of their lives. In so doing Northern Ireland Hospice Care will provide leadership and support for the development of generalist palliative care services, in partnership with local communities and health and social care organisations, to improve access to services and enhance professional skills and understanding in the practice of palliative care.

Background

Northern Ireland Hospice Care was established in 1981 to provide specialist palliative care for patients with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses and to give support to their carers, whether the patient is being cared for in the hospice or in the community.

Palliative care is defined by the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) "as the active care of patients with advanced progressive illness". Management of pain and other symptoms, and provision of psychological, social and spiritual care is paramount. The goal of palliative care is the achievement of the best quality of life for patients and their families. Many aspects of palliative care ae also applicable earlier in the course of the illness in conjunction with other treatments.

Northern Ireland Hospice Care currently provides specialist palliative care of the type defined by the NCPC, delivered and supported by means of the following services:

• In-patient facilities at Somerton House, Belfast (Adults) and Horizon House, Newtownabbey (Children)
• Community Services, which include Specialist Community Teams for adults in EHSSB and NHSSB, and in Sperrin Lakeland Trust areas, Hospice-at-Home Service in EHSSB and NHSSB areas, and Day Hospice in Belfast and Ballymoney and, Specialist Children's Community Nurses and Hospice-at-Home Services for children across Northern Ireland.
• A full range of medical and allied health professional services.
• Family support, spiritual and bereavement care to families and friends of Northern Ireland Hospice Care patients.
• Comprehensive training and education programmes.

Philosophy of care

Northern Ireland Hospice Care remains committed to a philosophy of care which:

• Affirms the patient as a unique and valued individual, preserving quality of life, dignity, cultural beliefs and independence as far as possible.
• Promotes and develops the multi-disciplinary approach to patient care to provide physical, psychological, social and spiritual support to patients and families.
• Recognises the different needs of patients at different stages of their illness.
• Creates and maintains a safe, secure and caring environment, fostering mutual trust conducive to the involvement of patient and family in the management of the illness.
• Identifies the patient's preference regarding the place of care be it home, hospital, hospice or nursing home and support of this choice whenever possible.
• Supports the family through the illness into bereavement, recognising and addressing the needs of the bereaved.

Funding

There is no charge for Northern Ireland Hospice Care services. They are available to everyone on the basis of need. We only receive a proportion of our running costs for the Adult Hospice Services from goverment and none at all for the Children's Hospice Services, therefore we still rely heavily on the generosity of the general public to maintain and develop our services.

Status

Northern Ireland Hospice Care is the operational name of Northern Ireland Hospice Limited, a registered charity, number XN45696, which is also registered in Northern Ireland as a company limited by guarantee, company number NI 14817. The registered office address is at 18 O'Neill Road, Newtownabbey. BT36 6WB