Angela Riedel: An unprecedented companion in the hospice service in Oschatz

Angela Riedel: An unprecedented companion in the hospice service in Oschatz

In the quiet city of Oschatz, the volunteer hospice companion Angela Riedel has been involved in people with death for seven years. Their use mainly takes place in nursing homes, hospitals or at home. A formative quote in a specialist magazine made her attentive to death and led her to deal with this sensitive topic more intensively. In 2018 she began training at the outpatient hospice service, which she prepared for the diverse challenges of accompaniment and the associated emotional concerns. These include, among other things, dealing with fears, difficult conversations and perception of needs of those affected.

The goal of Riedel's work is to offer people consolation and society in their last few days. When visiting your visits, listening and presence are in the foreground, with activities such as reading aloud or walking an important role. Riedel emphasizes that she does not take on medical tasks, but only offers emotional support. For her, your activity is not stressful, but an enrichment that helps her to deal with her own feelings. The experiences taught them to recognize the importance of grief and take the necessary time for it. Riedel regularly visits a man over 90-year-old who is mentally fit despite his age and asks lively questions about world events.

common values in the hospice work

The hospice movement has gained importance in Germany since the 1980s. Hospice work, as described by the Evangelical Diakonia Oschatz-Torgau and the Johannitern, aims to support people with seriously ill people and their relatives in the best possible way. The accompaniment takes place in a protected environment in which people can experience their last days with dignity. The individual needs of those affected are particularly taken into account, regardless of the denomination or faith they belong. The Johanniter, for example, offer extensive outpatient hospice services that are focused on the quality of life of the dying and also accompany their relatives.

In Germany there are now around 1,000 outpatient hospice services. These are often financially dependent on donors, since the health insurance companies only make a grant to the services. The work is also supported by voluntary life and death-like who play an important role in the entire process and do everything possible to enable people to die.

an outlook on the future of hospice work

Angela Riedel is convinced that it needs significantly more people who deal with death and who consider training in the hospice support. She firmly believes that by more understanding and openness to dying, the quality of life of everyone involved in the last phase of life can be increased considerably. The work in the hospice sector combines numerous volunteers with a common mission: to enable dying in dignity and at the same time to accompany the grief of the relatives.

The support from the diakonia and other facilities is not only important, but even necessary in order to continue to offer the hospice work in width. In the combination of medical and emotional accompaniment, an atmosphere is full of security in which those affected can feel safe and understood.

As Riedel aptly states, the whole topic is not just a challenge, but above all an enrichment for everyone who gets involved. Open handling of death and the associated grief can make a huge difference for everyone involved, so that everyone in their last days experiences the appreciation and support that he or she deserves.