Training Volunteers in palliative care

Categories: Care.

Volunteers are undertaking a five day palliative care course at Nairobi Hospice aimed at empowering them to understand end of life care and how to take care of patients with life threatening diseases.

Nairobi Hospice training coordinator M/s. Jesicah Ng’ang’a said that the training introduces the volunteers to palliative care so that they can attend to patients they may come across from an informed point of view, especially those chronic illnesses.

“We want to make them aware of what our patients go through so that whenever they come across such them they can take good care of them,” said M/s. Ng’ang’a.

M/s. Ng’ang’a said that the Hospice conducts such trainings in March and August at a cost of Ksh. 4200 per volunteer.

Additionally, she said that they have a palliative care training for health care workers conducted thrice every year in April, August and November at a cost of Ksh. 6200.

Mary Wanjiku, a volunteer trainee at the ongoing session said that she is out to improve her skills in health care, especially for persons with chronic illnesses.

“I want to have courage in seeing patients with cancer and attend to them in a more professional way after the training,” said M/s. Wanjiku.

She added that most patients do not accept their chronic conditions and she hopes to acquire skills to be able to counsel them and mitigate rejection.

Most hospices in Kenya carry out similar trainings to enhance palliative care understanding among health care workers and volunteers.

The current training has attracted 17 volunteers. 

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