When one nears the end of life, especially when one has been terminally ill, there are a lot of physical and mental trauma to cope with.
Hospice care deals with both aspects of this end stage of life and helps not only the patient but also the family to cope with it.
The qualified teams help the patient by giving relief from the pain and suffering with medications which have been prescribed by physicians.
Apart from physical pain the patient also suffers from fear and anxiety as they know that death is not far away and everyone is afraid of death unless they are given special therapy to cope with it.
This is usually a spiritual therapy which prepares the patient for the end.
Hospice care gives the patient relief from not just physical pain but from any other distressing symptoms.
The hospice philosophy is to affirm life and to regard death as being a normal happening.
The services and care provided by them do no hasten death nor can they postpone it.
They integrate both the spiritual aspects as well as the psychological ones of the patient.
With the support system of hospice the end of life days of the patient are spent in dignity and they have a life that is qualitative.
After the death of the patient the support is extended to the family so that they can cope with the bereavement process.
Just as the patient was given counseling the family is also helped with it.
The hospice social worker helps with funeral arrangements as the family is not in a condition to cope with them at this period of grief.
The team consists of counselors, therapists, social workers, home care assistance, nurses and physicians.
The hospice service is in high demand even for the aged who are not terminally ill do have a lot of problems like dementia and difficulty in movement.