Gratitude to The Harcourts Foundation for Supporting Equitable Palliative Care

19 February 2025

From left to right: Emily McDougall; Clinical Lead for Community Services, Chris Davies; Managing Director Harcourts Nelson & Richmond, Caroline Fletcher; Harcourts Nelson, Tracey Charlett; Branch Manager Harcourts Richmond, Julie Crook; Nelson Tasman Hospice Social Worker, Matt Goodman; Harcourts Richmond, Shardae Donker; Nelson Tasman Hospice Social Worker, Helen Butler; Nelson Tasman Hospice Clinical Psychologist, Elisha Shefford; Harcourts Richmond

At Nelson Tasman Hospice, we are deeply grateful to The Harcourts Foundation for their latest grant, which has enabled us to take an important step in providing equitable palliative care for our community.

Nelson Tasman Hospice is committed to holistic, specialist palliative care, ensuring that patients and their whānau receive comprehensive support. Through the Hospice New Zealand Grants Programme, this funding has allowed us to create a dedicated trauma-informed treatment room to allow our Clinical Psychologists and Social Workers the ability to provide evidenced based treatment for vulnerable members of our community including children and those who receive inequitable health care.

The need for this project was identified during a 2023 service review, which highlighted a gap in interdisciplinary clinical provision. While we successfully recruited highly qualified Allied Health clinicians to address the complex psychological and social needs of specialist palliative care, the absence of a designated trauma-informed treatment space remained a challenge. Thanks to The Harcourts Foundation, we were able to furnish and equip this space with accessible furniture and sensory modulation items, ensuring effective treatment of specialist palliative care symptoms (depression, anxiety, pain, breathlessness, PTSD).

In line with New Zealand’s National Sensory Modulation guidelines, this project is designed to optimise psychological and bereavement care for patients and whānau. By incorporating trauma-informed design elements, we can reduce the risk of complex bereavement reactions and improve overall psychological well-being.

Last week, some of the team from local Harcourts Nelson & Richmond visited Nelson Tasman Hospice to meet with our Allied Health team and see the newly developed room firsthand. It was a fantastic opportunity to share how their support is making a real impact on the lives of our patients and whānau.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to The Harcourts Foundation for their generosity and commitment to supporting palliative care services across Aotearoa. Their contribution is making a tangible difference in the lives of patients, whānau, and the wider Nelson Tasman community.

#ThankYouHarcourts #PalliativeCare #CommunitySupport #NelsonTasmanHospice