The Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA) recently announced the World Hospice and Palliative Care Day theme, ‘Healing Hearts and Communities.’ A lot of events have taken place in the last couple of years such as the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic and recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many people and families have lost loved ones and grief has been experienced globally. The world came together in unity with the goal of trying to end the pandemic and to build back better. To find out how you can support palliative care patients in Ukraine please visit here.
As we look forward to brighter days in the future, we must never forget the effects caused by the unfortunate events. Grief and loss have always been part of life experienced by everyone at some point in our lifetime. People usually hold on to the memories of their loved ones and especially the good times they shared together. Life does go on but sometimes the void left in our hearts can leave us completely empty.
Palliative care is a holistic approach aimed at optimising the quality of life. Sometimes people may identify palliative care with only people living with life-limiting conditions. This is only part of the story. We focus on the spiritual, emotional, and psychological well-being of grieving families as part of palliative care. That is why this year we choose to focus on healing the hearts and communities of those who have lost their loved ones but need help to move forward in life, despite the irreplaceable loss of someone they cared for deeply.
Let us come together in solidarity to help those among us going through grief and those whose grief is prolonged. When grief is complicated it can make it hard to perform daily tasks and function at home, work, and in other settings in society. Painful thoughts and emotions may linger and become uncontrollable. Extra support is needed and for some getting help from a mental health worker may be needed.
We encourage you to join us on Saturday 8th October 2022 as we celebrate World Hospice and Palliative Care Day by honouring those who have departed by giving their living loved ones hope and courage to move forward. Choosing to live a full life after grieving a loved one is one of the best ways to honour their memories because they would have wanted you to be happy.
As we plan to support those who have lost their loved ones, let us not forget to stand with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine who need our help now more than ever. We may be fortunate to live in countries where we enjoy peace, love, and unity but that is not the case in Ukraine at the moment. When we come together to help in time of need, that is when we demonstrate our love for each other and humanity. WHPCA, ICPCN, PallCHASE, and the EKR Foundation have come together to raise funds to support palliative care providers affected by the war. You can see how the campaign is going and donate through this link.
We will soon be releasing this year’s WHPCD toolkit and how you can get involved. Be sure to register your events on the World Day Website when the website is launched. Stay tuned!
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