According to the Trilogue Review (2008 to 2011) Health and HIV/AIDS are the third-most-funded sectors after education and social and community development. The FNB Fund has for a number of years actively supported hospices in South Africa with the main focus on the provision of quality and compassionate care.
The strategic focus of hospices is to ensure accessibility and sustainability of care that will improve the quality of lives of people with life-limiting illnesses. "Central to this lies FNB's vision of being a great business, helping to create a better world, which encourages employees, communities and organisations to make a difference in the lives of people who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS and other illnesses," said Howard Arrand, chairman of the FNB Fund.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines HBC as "the provision of health services by formal and informal care givers in a home in order to promote, restore and maintain a person's maximum level of comfort, function and health care, including care towards dignified death."
Home-based care (HBC) provides complete quality health services in homes within the communities to help restore and maintain people's health standards, and way of living, by providing health services at home.
To enhance accessibility and to address the high demand of these services, HBC was introduced through the recruitment of home-based carers who worked under the supervision of professional nurses. This model involves partnerships between health workers, clients/patients and members of the local community in order to enhance accessibility of primary, secondary and tertiary health care.
HBC offers flexibility and increased potential for culturally appropriate care and a home care network. It offers low-cost care that respects cultural practice and removes the need for family attendance at hospital.
"Improving the perception and importance of HBC through advocacy is vital. We need to strengthen the capacity of communities to respond to HIV/AIDS and to care for orphans, vulnerable children and people," said Arrand.
The intention is to improve the quality of life for both the patient and the family. Given pressing issues, such as shortage of medical resources, inadequate financial responses and a high number of patients who need care, hospices could not depend entirely on the services of professional medical specialists, such as doctors and nurses, to cater for this rising need.
"The stigma of HIV/AIDS remains a challenge and we need to find ways to continue to educate and create awareness around this. Innovation with regard to funding mechanisms, enhanced training and capacity building for hospices, as well as accessibility and sustainably that contributes positively to these organisations," concluded Arrand.
