work for a hospice

to a French hospital doctor today, who explained that it wasn’t the French philosophy to have ‘hospices’. He called them “mouroirs”, which was a new word for me but sounded pretty derogative. They mostly keep terminal patients in hospital here, or they go home.

I asked how hospital staff could have the same skills as hospice staff, he said they ‘get trained’. Fair enough. But that sounds pretty hard on the staff. Plus hospices are amazingly tranquil places, so completely different to hospitals. I swear they have quieter vacuum cleaners or something. And they aren’t just for terminally ill people, it’s a way of giving carers a rest so they can gather their strength for the next round of caring. Everyone knows you can’t care for others when you don’t care for yourself.

The only argument he had against hospices it seems, was the “perception” of a hospice as a place one goes to die. Of course no one wants to go in to a hospice. No-one wants to put anyone in one. Of course. But it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t exist.

that only sound people work in hospices; just imagine you’re on your bloody death bed and you have people who have the opposite politics to you going on and on about what they read in the Daily Mail or something.

And you’re in a coma and there’s nothing you can do or say.

arrrrgh.

that even if I don’t have the guts to work in one, I can at least tell everyone how absolutely amazing hospice nurses and respite carers are. They do a fantastic job. If you know any, be really really nice to them. Those people are special.

but it keeps getting bigger, so I’m going to see if I can put it out there. Even if all I can manage is their databases of dead people or something, I want to give something to the world of the dying. They are the forgotten people, and the people most in need of us.

Anyway, I may not report on this, but I need to see it every day to stop being so scared of it.

ps please nobody cheer me on this. It’s not that sort of a goal. I just want to do it for me.