The In Patient Unit at Helderberg Hospice is a 10 bed facility offering 24 hour nursing care and is used primarily as back up for the home care service. It is licensed by the Department of Health and accredited by COHSASA - (Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa).

The nursing care is provided by a palliative care trained professional nurse and 2 trained auxiliary nurses on each shift day and night. Patients are admitted from home for pain and symptom management, family respite and terminal care. The IPU is a short term stay facility and patients are admitted for up to 2 weeks. Close liaison is kept with the patient’s chosen doctor. The medical care needed for patients who access the state health care is provided by our volunteer doctors who are all experienced in palliative care.

The facilities consist of one and two bedrooms each of which has easy access to the garden. This enables the patient’s family and friends to move easily around the grounds without disturbing the other patients. The visiting hours are flexible and are accommodated in the ward routine. The IPU has 2 lounges for families who wish to stay for long periods with a very ill patient. The aim of the unit is to provide excellent care but also to make the patients and families feel at home.

This specialized 24 hour unit is costly to run and maintain. The ability to contribute to the cost is not a decisive factor in determining admission.

The patients admitted to the unit are often in need of the basic toiletries such as toothbrushes, face cloths, aqueous crème and soap.

We rely on donations of good condition single bed linen, towels and small size men’s’ and women’s’ pyjamas and gowns.