Our Services

Leaving Dad on his own while I was at work was difficult.  If hospice services had been available, I could have arranged for a volunteer to visit.  Dad would have loved the company and it would have given me peace of mind.

I am truly humbled by the selfless work the hospice volunteer visitors do. Providing a friendly face and one not wearing a uniform gives the residents a contact with the ‘outside world’. Knowing that they had the gift of time was so important.

I have found Hospice Mid Canterbury a really great thing to have access to, and they have helped me deal with my condition a lot better, over the last year and a half.   The people who I have met providing the services are a wonderful representation for Hospice.  They are knowledgeable and compassionate and enhance the experience. I truly appreciate all and any help that Hospice Mid Canterbury provides, and would like to thank anyone who helps out in any way.  It really does make a significant difference to people’s lives, such as myself.

Theresa, who has been having Reiki sessions from Hospice Mid Canterbury volunteer Joanne for nine months, says it has made a huge difference to the quality of her life in the rest home. Joanne visits once a fortnight and gives Theresa Reiki for an hour each time, working from her head to her toes. Theresa believes a side benefit of the visits is that Joanne lets her ‘talk and talk and talk.’ “Hospice is doing a wonderful thing and I’m so very happy they sent Joanne into my life.”

In many ways, I became a volunteer for Mid-Canterbury Hospice because of what I went through nursing my terminally ill husband in his final year. It would have been wonderful to have the services the Hospice offers for free:  I would have asked for someone to sit with my husband while I had a sleep. As it was, I went a number of months with broken sleep, usually getting just an hour at a time before he woke up distressed. I became exhausted and barely coped.