This weekend is National Sunflower Weekend, which has been organised to raise much-needed funds for hospice care in Ireland.
All funds raised stay with the local home care team in Kilkenny which has provided a vital service of hospice care to the people of Carlow/ Kilkenny for the last 23 years.
The Carlow/Kilkenny Home care service was the first service of its kind attached to a general hospital in the country, thanks to the vision of Mr Ian Wilson.
A recently published report by the Irish Hospice Foundation has demonstrated, through their research, that most people prefer to remain at home where possible when offered the appropriate support.
The Carlow/Kilkenny Home Care Team provides symptom control and pain relief. They also provide support and counselling for both the patient and their families during these difficult but very precious days.
Anything that is scarce becomes precious. In palliative care, what is precious is time.
The Home Care Team employs five full time clinical nurse specialists in palliative care. Patients are referred to this service by their GP and they liaise with the public health nurse and the palliative care consultant at St. Luke’s Hospital.
While some funding comes from the HSE, most of the funding comes from the generosity of the people from the Carlow/Kilkenny community.
Sunflower weekend is the major fund raising venture of the year for the service.
Last year, a whopping €14,938 was donated by the people of Kilkenny alone and organisers are hopeful that in these difficult financial times people will continue to be generous. Every euro goes directly to patient care.
