Does hospice do anything to shorten or lengthen a patient’s life?
Hospice does nothing to either speed up or slow down the dying process. Just as physicians and midwives lend support and expertise during the time of childbirth, the hospice team provides presence and specialized knowledge during the dying process. Hospice seeks to relieve suffering, control symptoms and restore functional capacity while remaining sensitive to personal, cultural, and religious beliefs and practices.
Related Questions
- Is it true that hospice staff and volunteer intrude on the patients home life, disrupting the familys daily activities and displacing the family as caregivers?
- Does choosing hospice mean the patient is giving up hope that there is nothing more the doctor’s can do to prolong life?
- Must a patient be actively dying in the last few days of life in order to enroll in a hospice program?
