Bed crunch at hospices

 

HOSPICES are so short of beds that terminally ill patients sometimes have to be put on a waiting list for a place, with some dying before they can be admitted.

On some days, two of the four hospices here, Dover Park and Assisi, have 10 to 20 patients waiting to get in, they said. The waiting time at Assisi can be up to two weeks.

Together with Bright Vision Hospital and St Joseph's Home and Hospice, which were not able to give figures, they provide some 130 beds for a population whose demand for such care is growing as it ages.

In 2008, 1,188 patients needed hospice beds and another 3,913 sought palliative care at home. The figures for last year are not yet available.

The Health Ministry said it was aware of the growing demand and was 'gearing up' to expand bed capacity, as well as to recruit and train more palliative specialists such as doctors and nurses.

Hospices admit terminally ill patients who cannot be cared for at home, or who need temporary alleviation of distressing symptoms. They offer special care for the dying that cannot be provided by hospitals or nursing homes.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]