Hospice and palliative care services in Hong Kong: how to access them, and why we need to talk more openly about death
Demand for end-of-life, palliative and hospice care in Hong Kong is outstripping supply. Knowing what the options are is essential to ensuring loved ones die in peace, and so too is talking frankly about dying
The generous souls engaged in the service of hospice and palliative care in have a mission: to add life to days when they cannot add days to life.
For Connie Chu, chief operating officer of the Society for the Promotion of Hospice Care (SPHC) in Hong Kong, a that means helping people feel more comfortable as they approach death.
“It’s time to see how [they can] live better within a limited period of time, how to get rid of harsh treatment, how to make a patient comfortable, and how to make good memories for the whole family.”
Father Luigi Bonalumi, a parish priest in Tai Po who counsels the dying, says Hong Kong society ought to talk more openly about death so that people can die more peacefully. He recalls how important this was for a woman he helped a year ago.
The struggle for Hong Kong’s old and sick to die with dignity
“She was a principal in a school and she had cancer. Towards the end of her life she told me that walking this path was difficult. She felt pain and suffering. She had thought it would be easier, but [after talking about it] she accepted it and went in peace.”