Waerea Study Resources

Palliative Care

From Whenua ki te Whenua – Advanced care planning guide for whānau

We are connected to the land from the first breath of life to the last. Our spirit is carried within the belly of the wind to the resting place of the ancestors.’ At birth, our pito* and whenua** go to the earth.  On our life journey we draw on nurturing care – and this continues for transitioning towards the end of life too. Identifying whānau, carers and support is important for our final return to the whenua once more – practically, physically and spiritually.

*Pito: end of umbilical cord closest to the belly button
**whenua: placenta

This section offers an overview of available palliative care options and their alignment with Māori values.

What is palliative care?

Palliative care is the care of people who are dying from active, progressive diseases or other conditions that are not responsive to curative treatment.

Palliative services can include:

  • Talking to the person and their caregiver about the illness, treatments and medications.
  • Providing pain relief.
  • Helping with showering, eating and other aspects of personal care.
  • giving advice on self-care for example healthy eating and exercise.
  • Help with decision-making.
  • Practical help with equipment, medication and respite care.
  • Help with advance care planning.


Palliative care embraces the physical, social, emotional and spiritual elements of wellbeing–tinana (physical body), whānau (family, including extended family), hinengaro (mind) and wairua (spiritual being)– and enhances a person’s quality of life while they are dying.

More information and helpful resources for advanced care planning and publications have been linked below:


Tō tātou reo | Advanced care planning

Whenua ki te Whenua – An advance care planning guide for whānau

Whenua ki te whenua is a helpful first step before filling out your advanced care plan. It helps you think about and talk through your values, beliefs and health priorities. It supports you to plan for your future care – especially if you become unwell and cannot tell people yourself.

  • Inside you will find prompts, examples, and ideas to make conversations easier with your whānau and health care team.

Read here


My Advanced Care and Guide

My advance care plan – where your record your wishes.
Helpful guidance – prompts and ideas to support your thinking as you complete the plan.

Read here
Website: https://www.myacp.org.nz/


Health Quality & Safety Commission

Website: https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/our-programmes/advance-care-planning/publications-and-resources/publication/3212

Special medical care for people with serious illnesses.

There are over 30 hospices located around Aotearoa New Zealand. Every hospice in New Zealand respects a patient’s choice to access assisted dying. Tōtara Hospice is the only hospice that currently provides the assisted dying procedure on-site. The other 31 hospices do not perform assisted dying on their premises, but all hospice staff support patients leading up to an assisted death and care for whānau (family, including extended family) afterwards.

Hospice staff provide compassionate care regardless of personal wishes or values, supporting patients and families through their end-of-life journey and grief. Hospice staff have a responsibility (even if they personally do not agree with or support assisted dying) to provide people with incurable terminal illnesses information about assisted dying (how to contact the Assisted Dying Service Team).

For more information check with your local hospice about their assisted dying policy.

Te Ipu Aronui website was written by Dr Tess Moeke-Maxwell and her team to support Māori whānau (families) to provide care to adults and kaumātua (older people) at end of life, as well as take care of whānau at the same time. There is a lot of helpful information about end of life tikanga and caring for kaumātua at the end of life on this site.

Supporting whānau led end of life and death care. This is a helpful website because it supports whanau living in their communities to be independent in navigating end of life care and caring for tūpāpaku naturally after someone dies.

Website: https://taa.nz/