Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial & spiritual. Palliative care is required for a wide range of diseases for adults and children. For adults this includes cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, AIDS and diabetes. Many other conditions may require palliative care, including kidney failure, chronic liver disease, multiple sclerosis, parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological disease, dementia, congenital anomalies and drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Care
At Island, we believe that our first duty is to care. For more than 35 years, we have been caring for those who are facing some of the most difficult times of their lives; whether it is chronic illness, a sudden death, or a traumatic event. Being faced with the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness can be overwhelming for both the patient and the family. Island can help with both counselling and clinical intervention.
Compassion
At the heart of everything we do, is compassion. Palliative and bereavement care is born out of the fervent belief that there is never “nothing we can do”. When all attempts at curative care have failed, there is still a reason to care. We believe that human dignity and value are due to all of us for as long as we live, even to the very end of a life. When someone has died, Island cares for those who are affected by the impact of that loss. At Island, we believe that pain is more than just physical; it can be emotional, spiritual, psychological and social. We also believe that with our multi-disciplinary teams working together with families and communities we can help to significantly reduce suffering and manage pain.
Impact
Our programme work covers a wide range of interventions, including bereaved children’s programmes, widows support groups, and health professionals training and mentorship. We have a professionally staffed monitoring and evaluation department. As a centre of excellence Island is involved in research studies. For exmaple, we were involved in the NIH funded 'Strategies to Improve Kaposi's Sarcoma Outcomes in Zimbabwe' project; Validation of the Integrated African Palliative Care Outcome Scale with Kings College London and with Bristol University an MRC Global Confidence in Mental Health Grant with a focus on Island's support for Young Carers in Zimbabwe.
We are audited annually by Deloitte & Touche annually.