This Christmas, terminally-ill patients at the palliative care centre of the Clermont-Ferrand University hospital in Puy-de-Dôme in central France, will be able to enjoy some festive spirit with their friends and relatives in a purpose-built wine bar attached to the hospice.
The medically-supervised visits to the wine bar, which was opened in September, are proving to have a very positive impact upon patients’ psyches, and offer some semblance of normality during patients’ final days. The hospital staff believe it is important to give those who are often in a great deal of discomfort and pain, the chance to be able to relax in convivial surroundings with their guests.
Speaking of the reasoning behind the unique decision to open a hospice wine bar, Virginie Guastella, the head of the hospital unit said that it helps patients enjoy the company of their visitors in more conducive and relaxed surroundings. She added:
“A situation can be palliative for several weeks or even several months and it is because life is so precious and real until the end that we decided to cultivate all that is fine and good. It is a way of rethinking the care of others, taking into account their feelings and emotions that make them a human being”.
The bar offers a variety of wines and spirits, and of course, Champagne.