Hospice’s Te Anau shop is a really busy place in the lead up to Christmas, particularly since the closure of H & J’s department store in the town earlier this year.

Clothing is the biggest selling item in the shop, and the move to a much bigger premise in the main street earlier this year means more racks and more choice for keen connoisseurs of the re-use and upcycling movement. 

Look carefully and you might spy a Karen Walker handbag or a Trelise Cooper blouse, or maybe an old rimu coffee table that could be turned into an arty bookshelf.

It also provides another donation option for people wanting to declutter their homes or for elderly people moving to smaller residences. The shop also sells lots of furniture, books, crockery and other household items. 

Te Anau shop manager Cheryl Chittock stresses money raised through sales of these donated goods goes to help fund the community nurse service in the area. “People in the district like to know what we’re doing with the money,” she says.

While government funds about half of hospice’s expenses, we must raise the rest through money made through our shops, at events, from bequests and via grants.

Haidee Oliver-Thompson

Haidee Oliver-Thompson is the Hospice Southland community nurse covering western districts, including Te Anau and Fiordland.

She supports patients with a palliative condition in their homes. “My role involves supporting patients for end-of-life care if they wish to be at home. We do this by working closely with the district nurses and GPs in setting up the appropriate medication regime and supports at home.”

This involves monitoring symptoms such as pain and nausea, providing advice, education and support around management of symptoms, and assessing the need for equipment or services such as physio or occupational therapy for people to manage at home safely. 

“Fiordland have a fantastic supportive team based in Te Anau who are very involved in patients care,” she says. “The district nurses are our eyes and ears and keep us updated on how patients and their family are managing.”

Hospice Southland have a medical team available for assistance and they can visit patients in Fiordland if required. We also have an extended allied support team consisting of Family Support, Spiritual Support, Social Work, Day Programme, Living Legacy and Complementary Therapies, in which the community nurse will discuss and offer each of these services to all our patients.  

Hospice is available by phone 24 hours a day for advice, support and guidance which is reassuring for patients and family to have someone to call out-of-hours if required.

Flora Gilkison, CEO, Hospice Southland