# Hospice NZ — A Hospice Guide for Carers: He Puka Ārahi Kaimanaaki Pairuri (2024 edition) Document ID: doc-0178 Publisher/source: Te Kahu Pairuri o Aotearoa – Hospice New Zealand Physical PDF pages: 110 Document/version date: 2024 Original capture/access label: June 2026 Original and primary sources reviewed: 10 October 2026 [Preserved bundled original](/pdfs/2024%20-%20Hospice%20NZ%20-%20Guide%20for%20Carers.pdf) [Primary publisher context](https://www.hospice.org.nz/hospice_guide_for_carers) ## What the document contributes The preserved 2024 Hospice New Zealand guide offers practical and emotional support to whānau-family and friends caring for someone with a life-limiting illness. Its 110 physical pages cover carer wellbeing, Māori approaches, children, home care, communication, planning, dying and grief. Use it to prepare questions and organise support with the healthcare team, rather than as individual medication, legal or entitlement advice. The publisher page now links a different 112-page PDF with 2026 copyright; the bundled 2024 edition is retained and its historical contacts and simplified legal statements require current checks. Written with Tricia Hendry, the guide combines carer experiences, practical checklists and explanations of palliative/hospice care. It treats close friends as part of whānau-family, supports wellbeing and cultural/spiritual needs, and encourages dialogue with the care team. Planning material discusses advance care, EPAs, wills and funerals; practical care material discusses medicines and common symptoms. These are orientation topics, not instructions to diagnose, alter treatment or determine legal authority. Current primary sources distinguish assessed Health NZ and DSS carer-support streams, local hospice referral criteria and expected versus unexpected deaths. The landing’s 11 June 2024 date does not establish the first publication date of the August-produced local file. ## Included material - Welcome and contents (physical pp. 1–6; printed pp. 1–4) - Palliative/hospice care, caring role, anticipatory grief and self-care (printed pp. 6–33) - Supporting the person, talking about dying, Māori approaches, rongoā and children (pp. 35–53) - Home care, equipment, medication, nutrition, symptoms and extra help (pp. 55–75) - Advance care planning, documents, finances, EPAs, wills and farewell planning (pp. 77–87) - Care in facilities and the final days/hours of life (pp. 88–95) - After-death tasks, grief, glossary and personal notes (pp. 97–106) ## Substantive findings - Acknowledgements identify a 2024 edition and copyright 2024; PDF production metadata is 13 August 2024. The original has 110 physical pages. The publisher page date 11 June 2024 is a separate web-page date; exact first release of these bytes is unknown (physical p. 2). - Whānau-family includes close friends. Questions not answered by the guide should be discussed with the healthcare team supporting the person and carer (physical p. 3; printed p. 1). - The guide covers anticipatory grief, carer wellbeing, Te Whare Tapa Whā, support circles, communication, Māori approaches and children as well as practical home care (printed pp. 11–53). - Medicine and symptom sections emphasise checking prescription instructions, telling the healthcare team about other medicines/products and contacting the team for worsening symptoms or carer distress. They do not authorise treatment changes by the reader (printed pp. 66–75). - Advance care planning, resuscitation, EPAs, wills and executors are discussed as planning topics. The current HDC Code and Ministry of Justice explanations govern consent/legal distinctions; family relationship alone does not establish decision-making authority (printed pp. 78–84). - The guide’s home-death advice is appropriate to an expected death with an agreed care plan, not every death. Current govt.nz guidance says call 111 for an unexpected death and contact the doctor for an expected home death (printed pp. 94–95). - Historical support links include Whaikaha and Health NZ. Current DSS and Health NZ pages describe distinct assessed carer-support streams; a hospice referral or caring role does not itself establish a respite allocation (printed p. 33). - On 10 October 2026 the publisher-linked download was a different 112-page file, with copyright 2026 and 20 August 2026 production metadata but an acknowledgement still referring to a 2024 edition. It is not byte-identical to this preserved PDF. ## Identity, dates and provenance Preserved original SHA-256: b278ce328d5e7fe8c6794c307a02ca14f3951807665b8c5292761accfe259b6f (8,426,263 bytes, 110 physical pages). All original bytes and the exact filename remain unchanged. Earlier generic Parliament source URL and inaccurate catalogue count are preserved in the scoped audit fixture as capture history. The publisher page retains 11 June 2024 while its current download has a 2026 copyright and August 2026 production metadata. The new file is 112 pages and retains an acknowledgement of a 2024 edition; it is a changed file, not proof that the local 110-page version was released on the landing-page day. The preserved local PDF has copyright/edition year 2024 and 13 August 2024 production metadata. First-publication day is unknown. The booklet’s statement that healthcare teams cannot report illegal drug use (printed p. 67) should not be treated as an absolute legal confidentiality guarantee. The current Privacy Commissioner guidance identifies permitted disclosures and mandatory demands, with additional conditions for health information. An advance care plan records values and preferences; its statements must not automatically be treated as a valid advance directive, an EPA, a will or consent by a relative. The current HDC Code and Ministry of Justice EPA resources supply the relevant legal framework. Consult the clinical team about resuscitation/medication decisions; this brief does not repeat the guide’s simplified DNR description as a universal legal rule. Home-death advice at printed pp. 94–95 needs the expected-death context: current govt.nz directs an unexpected death to 111, whereas an expected home death should be reported to the doctor. No symptom or sign in a guide independently establishes that a death was expected. Printed p. 33 is a historical support directory. DSS now describes its disability-support stream separately from the needs-assessed Health NZ health-condition subsidy. Do not transfer purchasing rules, allocations or eligibility between those streams, or treat assessment/helpline contact as guaranteed respite delivery. [Current publisher-linked download](https://assets.nationbuilder.com/hospicenz/pages/96/attachments/original/1790209803/HOSPICE_Carers_Guide_WEB_20_Aug_2026.pdf?1790209803=) This current download has 112 physical pages and SHA-256 498ec6c788094c2f6ba2fef5acb9bbc388ed210bf0106cbe6b676d6cccfcab2e; byte-identical to the preserved original: no. No newer PDF was substituted into this record. ## Practical use and implications Prepare care-team conversations, an after-hours contact plan, a support-circle roster and questions about practical equipment, cultural needs, legal planning and respite. Recheck individual treatment instructions, current referral/benefit rules and available local services. - Carer support requires coordination across clinical services, informal support and separately assessed funding streams; the booklet does not establish an individual allocation or prove nationwide delivery. - Use the guide’s communication/checklist topics in staff-supported education, with local contacts and individually agreed clinical instructions. - Ask the care team about symptoms, medicines, cultural preferences and after-hours help. Unexpected death requires emergency contact. Check current legal and funding advice rather than relying on historical shorthand. ## Evidence boundaries Preserved 2024 educational guide, not personalised clinical/legal advice or proof of service/benefit eligibility. The 110-page PDF count is physical; numbered text reaches 106 with covers/blanks. Current publisher 112-page 2026-copyright file differs and retains 2024 acknowledgement wording. Exact local first-release day unknown; June 2026 capture and original bytes retained. Do not treat the p. 67 categorical statement about inability to report illegal drug use as a confidentiality guarantee: current Privacy Commissioner guidance recognises legal disclosure grounds. Simplified DNR/EPA/will material and death-at-home instructions need current professional context; no current national hospice count inferred from the historic 33 figure. No individual medical or legal advice, allocation assessment, booking, price check or proof of local delivery is supplied. Review day, historic capture, printed document/version dates, production metadata and current source changes are separate. ## Primary context references - [Hospice Carers](https://www.hospice.org.nz/hospice_guide_for_carers) — Page displayed 11 June 2024 but current linked PDF is a different 112-page file with copyright 2026, August 2026 production metadata and retained 2024-edition acknowledgement. - [Hospice Current](https://www.hospice.org.nz/hospice-guide) — Current publisher guidance says hospice care is free for patients and whanau using its services; services vary and local referral criteria apply, with provider or self-referral routes. - [Consent](https://www.hdc.org.nz/your-rights/about-the-code/code-of-health-and-disability-services-consumers-rights/) — Right7 informed consent/presumption of competence; advance directives under common law and right to refuse/withdraw consent. ACP/EPA/will cannot be treated as interchangeable documents or blanket authority. - [Epa](https://www.justice.govt.nz/family/powers-to-make-decisions/the-court-and-enduring-power-of-attorney-epa/) — Current ministry forms/explanations distinguish personal-care/welfare from property EPA. Setup through lawyer/trustee corporation; Family Court may review issues. Individual activation and scope require legal/clinical checks. - [Privacy](https://www.privacy.org.nz/responsibilities/releasing-personal-information-to-police-and-law-enforcement-agencies/) — 30 April2024 official guidance describes legal disclosure grounds, mandatory demands and HIPC rule11 conditions; older guide page67 claim that healthcare teams cannot report illegal drug use is not a blanket legal guarantee. - [Expected Death](https://www.govt.nz/browse/family-and-whanau/death-and-bereavement/what-to-do-someone-dies/) — Updated 14 August 2026. Unexpected death: call111 ambulance/police. Expected home death: contact doctor, may wait until morning if overnight. Funeral expenses may be released by bank without awaiting probate; apply to bank, not guaranteed payment. - [Registration](https://www.govt.nz/browse/family-and-whanau/death-and-bereavement/registering-a-death/) — Updated 22 May 2024. Registration within3 working days of burial/cremation if arranging yourself; registration free, ordered certificate fee separate; doctor/nurse cause-of-death certificate or coroner authorisation required. - [Dss](https://www.disabilitysupport.govt.nz/carers/how-to-access-carer-support) — Current DSS disability-support Carer Support is assessed/allocated via NASC/EGL, with Purchasing Operational Policy from1April2026; identifies separate HealthNZ health-condition subsidy. Claims processing by HealthNZ does not make all streams identical. - [Healthnz](https://www.healthnz.govt.nz/hospitals-services/eligibility-subsidies/carer-support-subsidy) — Latest direct HTTP body succeeded and confirms assessed HealthNZ health/age-related Carer Support; earlier web-tool retrieval returned403. Distinct from DSS disability-support stream. No individual allocation inferred. ## Research evidence The complete preserved PDF page text, metadata, hashes, current-download comparison, primary references and retrieval limitations are recorded in artifacts/research/end-of-life-carer-source-audit-2026-10-10.json. The original PDF was visually checked. Primary sources were checked on 10 October 2026; phone/email response or service availability was not tested.