Ours is an outpatient service, in which we see patients at the hospice, in hospitals and clinics near the hospice and also in their homes, within a 20 km radius of the hospice, as this is usually the preferred point of care for the very ill or those at the end of their life. Hospice Mbarara brings a holistic approach to pain and symptom control, offering counseling, psychosocial and spiritual support not only to the patient, but to the family as well, with the patient at the centre of care.

We get referrals from the national referral hospital, nearby private hospitals and clinics, collaborating HIV/AIDS primary care providers. Some also come as self referrals, or are referred to us by our community volunteers. Others will have been referred by carers of our former patients, or patients of ours in the community that are already on the program.

Once they are enrolled on the program, they are reviewed either in the health facility, or at the hospice, or, depending on how far they are from the hospice, at home, or on outreach. We normally place patients on home or outreach visit also depending on the severity of their illness, and also on their need, especially as regards whether or not they can afford transport back to the hospice for reviews. For the others who cannot afford transport back for review, we offer some transport facilitation, this given out depending on our assessment of the need.

For the patients in the hospital, we normally advocate for their discharge home, if it is determined that there is no more benefit for aggressive treatment with curative intent. This is because, as mentioned earlier, when patients at the end of their lives, we have found that many of them prefer to be in the comfort of their own homes as they near their last hours. However, we have had cases where patient and family prefer to stay in hospital for one reason or other, and for these we respect their decision, and support them as best we can. For those that are discharged to their homes but may be too sick to return, we normally encourage the closest carer, who knows the patient