Local councillors are asking about the possibility of the development of a hospice day care facility for the South West in light of the move of a palliative care nurse from the community back to a hospital setting.

There are fears generally that palliative care nurses -- those who nurse terminally ill patients -- and care providers in the community are being stretched beyond what is possible to deliver.

Unappealing as it sounds, the name it has been given -- swipe care -- sums up the type of care that some people are being given. This is not because nurses don’t care, it is because they are not being given time to carry out their duties. Their work is to be commended, Councillors heard on Monday night that employees are being expected to drive around the County to deliver this care and it is not acceptable. On top of that, wages for palliative care providers have been described as “diabolical”.

There are fears the Transforming Your Care -- major changes to how health care is delivered -- is not working on the ground.

There is not a great deal of optimism that the hospice idea will ever find the necessary favour but one councillor has said he is convinced of the need for a day hospice service in the south west, arguing that the service is available in other areas of Northern Ireland and there is a deficit in terms of hospice service here.

The service would provide support to cancer sufferers as well as other progressive illnesses by way of providing support from allied health professionals such as physiotherapy, social work for benefit advice, counselling support as well as other services that improve the quality of life for the sufferer.

If Transforming your Care is to work we have to show innovation for people who wish to live in their own homes as much as possible, he argues.

Certainly, if swipe care is the only option on the agenda for the very sick, then they will choose hospital for their care, even though it is known that most people would prefer to be cared for at home. They need care packages to have confidence they will have the support they need. Society is judged on how it treats the sick and the old. How would 15 minutes of care a day for a terminally ill patient be viewed by any right thinking person?