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Danish Newspaper wrote: 10.05.2006
In five years, free access to hospices throughout the country has been made possible. Now the chairman of Hospice Forum resigns, and the organisation is without a chairman.
By Karin Dahl Hansen
The association Hospice Forum, which has the aim of expanding the hospice idea to the whole country and improving conditions for the terminally ill and dying, is without a chairman as a consequence of the resignation of Ole Bang, who has represented the organisation the last five years. The association has not succeeded in finding a new chairman, and subsequently an extraordinary general meeting is planned to take place during the summer.
- We have reached a crossroad, and we have achieved that all counties must have a hospice. But the work has expanded, and I need to change gears and get involved with different aspects of the hospice cause, says Ole Bang, who emphasises that he is not leaving the post because of disagreements.
When he was instrumental in founding Hospice Forum in 2001, there were few hospices in Denmark, and if you wanted to spend the last part of life in a hospice, you had to pay part of it yourself, as there was no public support available for the stay. Parliament was divided on the question regarding the expansion and public support of hospices.
Today the picture has changed. Hospices are now a public service, and next month the eight hospice in Denmark opens in Roskilde, later this summer number nine appears in Haderslev, and in two years there will be hospices in all counties.
- Even though it has felt heavy and slow at times, it has gone fast, and at international meetings I have experienced that other countries are impressed by how far we have come in Denmark, says Ole Bang, who is a trained accountant, working as a self-employed business advisor.
He calls it a victory that in three years it was possible to change attitudes in Parliament, so that a hospice bill was passed in 2004, supported by all parties except the Enhedslisten. At the same time the taboo has been broken in the population, so it is now possible to talk about death and hospices in a natural way, estimates Ole Bang.
- There is no doubt that the Dansk Folkeparti has contributed to this positive development. They have worked diligently for the cause and supported the allocation of funds for hospices on the Budget. Now , our first goal has been reached, that is to get the hospices. The second goal, which the new executive committee needs to address, is to ensure that the quality of the new hospices is good, and this requires education and research, says Ole Bang.
Time will show whether Denmark has got the number of hospices we need, but Ole Bang points out that in England experiences indicate that the number of days spent in the hospice by the individual patient can be reduced by making care and nursing available in the home, thus making it possible for more people to die at home under secure circumstances.
Ole Bang is relieved that he can now pass on the task as chairman, even though he regrets that it has not yet been possible to find his successor. But he is not letting go of the hospice work, as he now becomes responsible for the fundraising for the Hospice Fund. Besides, he has become a member of a European workgroup, which is to map out the hospice situation in 35 countries.
dahl-hansen@kristeligt-dagblad.dk
Placed on the net the 10th of May 2006
http://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/forside/artikel:aid=290345
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