World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2026 was marked on October 10.
Locally, South Coast Hospice was established in 1982 by Kath Defilippi and a team of volunteers.
It began with a simple vision: to bring compassionate palliative care into the homes of people facing life-limiting illness.
Over the years, we have grown into a multidisciplinary community organisation serving the Ugu District, providing palliative care, psychosocial and bereavement support, community health programmes, training and outreach – always with the belief that every person deserves dignity, comfort and quality of life.
Opened on 1 November 1994, Kingfisher House provided specialised inpatient palliative care for patients whose symptoms could no longer be adequately managed at home, as well as respite for families and compassionate end-of-life care.
Unfortunately, Kingfisher House closed in December 2023 as part of hospice’s response to financial pressures, and the importance of patient care in the home became critical to providing much-needed care and support to patients and their families at the most vulnerable of times.
Under the expert guidance of Dr Hilton Horsley and the leadership of Sr Dina Thorncroft, the interdisciplinary team provides palliative care and support to over 70 patients in their homes per month.
Following in our founder’s footsteps, we believe that hospice care should be for all and is, in fact, an answer to a call in communities where there is much need.
The word palliative comes from the late Latin verb pallaire, meaning to cover or to cloak.
The word later evolved to mean mitigate, alleviate or soften the effects of something, rather than curing it directly – metaphorically covering a person in comfort.
This ties back to the symbolism of the caterpillar entering into a cocoon only to emerge as a beautiful butterfly.
We pay tribute to all the patients whom we have served over the years, the community members and the dedicated staff who have been proud to be part of South Coast Hospice.
DIANE VAN DYK
CEO
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