12/05/2026
Its fitting that today on International Nurses Day, during Hospice Awareness Week, we celebrate the work of nurses at Otago Community Hospice.
Nursing sits at the heart of what we do in hospice. It always has. From the earliest days of palliative care, it was nurses who gave the movement its shape – who understood that good end-of-life care meant treating the whole person, not just managing a condition.
To our nurses - you carry something significant every single day. You are the ones patients and whānau turn to at three in the morning and the ones that spend that extra bit of time over a cuppa so that families feel comfortable confiding in you. You are the ones who notice and attend to what is important. You do all of this while managing complex clinical care, navigating difficult conversations, listening deeply, and supporting families through some of the hardest moments of their lives. The trust our patients and whānau place in you is profound and well earned.
Today is also a moment to recognise something else: nurses don't work alone. Behind every nurse is a team – social workers, counsellors, doctors, administrators, volunteers, health colleagues, cooks, housekeeping staff, fundraising and shop staff and many more – all of whom make the work possible. Hospice care at its best is a collective effort, and the people who support, surround, and work alongside our nurses are just as integral to the care we provide.
So today, we say thank you. To our nurses – for the skill, the steadiness, and the humanity you bring every shift. And to every member of our wider team – for the part you play in making this place what it is.
- Ginny Green, Chief Executive, Otago Community Hospice
