Finding ‘Dignity in Death’ through Sikh Values.

Avneet's Journey: Resident doctor brings Sikh values of selfless service and compassion to palliative care during placement at Pilgrims Hospices.

Avneet reflects on how these principles align seamlessly with hospice care, supporting thousands of people in living well and approaching the end of life with comfort and dignity. Inspired by the humanitarian Bhagat Puran Singh Ji, who championed the belief that “dignity in death is a birthright,” she explains how Pilgrims Hospices brings this vision to life—honouring patients’ wishes and providing care grounded in kindness, cleanliness, and love.

At Pilgrims Hospices, specialist palliative care doctors and consultants play a vital role in supporting patients and their families. They focus on managing and improving the physical symptoms that accompany a variety of life-limiting illnesses, with the broader aim of helping people to live well – in both mind and body – in the time that they have left.

Avneet Kaur Dhandee, a resident doctor from London, completed a placement at the Canterbury hospice in 2025. She shares her experiences, including how her Sikh faith informs her medical practice.

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What inspired you to do your training at Pilgrims Hospices? 

I’m interested in becoming a GP with a special interest in palliative care and mental health, so I felt a hospice placement would be essential to inform my future career. I’ve gained immense knowledge from my time at Pilgrims and look forward to applying it to my practice, which will include hospitals, care homes, and patients’ homes.

What has your role involved, and what have you learnt through working at Pilgrims? Has anything surprised you? 

Working at Pilgrims, I’ve seen how effective primary care management can help reduce pressure on hospice services, which are funded mainly by charitable donations. Pilgrims deliver skilled and compassionate end-of-life care, free of charge, to thousands of people across East Kent every year. They provide extensive services in the community, with care teams attending patients in their homes, care homes, and nursing homes. Supporting families is also a key focus; Pilgrims offer dedicated groups, from therapies to legacy work and so much more.

I’ve been able to get involved with delivering many of these services, including:

• Clerking in new patients
• Identifying actively dying patients and managing their care appropriately
• Prescribing effective medication dosages and identifying beneficial choices of analgesia, anti-emetics, laxatives, and syringe drivers
• Visiting patients at home alongside the medical team 

Throughout my placement, I was guided and supported by a consultant and the wider Pilgrims team, who are all amazing! I initially associated hospice work with sadness, grief and anguish, but I felt so much gratitude during my time at Pilgrims. Whilst some negative emotions are definitely more real than ever within the hospice environment, positive feelings shine through; families share their gratefulness for the care, patients express relief as they become the most pain-free they’ve ever been, and it’s lovely to see the comfort people feel thanks to the kindness shown by staff.

Do you have any favourite memories from your time at Pilgrims? 

Something I’m most proud of is taking part in the Pilgrims Way Challenge 2025 whilst working at the hospice. I completed the challenge with my medical school friend, Sana. We walked 35km from Dover to the Canterbury hospice, on a very hot day! When we crossed the finish line, we were cheered on by the wonderful ward nurses and patients.

Afterwards, I visited the hospice and showed my medal to the nurses and patients I’d been looking after. I was particularly emotional and overwhelmed by the donations I received from family, friends, staff, patients and patients’ families – with messages including “thank you for your kindness and care towards my sister” and “thank you for being the best doctor I’ve met.”  Sana and I are proud to have raised over £2,600 for Pilgrims!

Sana Hussain & Avneet Kaur Dhandee

Did you have any preconceptions/assumptions about hospice care before coming to Pilgrims? 

I thought hospice care was only for those at the end of life; I imagined sick people who were very close to dying. I now know that it often starts much earlier, when life-limiting diagnoses are made. Not everyone comes to the hospice to die; symptom control is a key reason for referral, to help enable patients to live well in the community. Pilgrims has a dedicated team for community visits, which expands care beyond the hospice walls.

Why is hospice care important?

I practice the Sikh faith and am inspired by many Sikh values in how I live my life. Core aspects of the Sikh ethos include the Panjabi terms “sewa” (selfless service) and “daya” (compassion). As hospices are almost entirely charity-funded, they are a prime example of sewa and daya, helping improve thousands of people’s lives and their experiences of end-of-life care every single year. Not only do hospices support patients with life-limiting conditions with their physical symptoms, they also help both patients and families with the psychological challenges faced at such an emotional time.

I practice the Sikh faith and am inspired by many Sikh values in how I live my life. Core aspects of the Sikh ethos include the Panjabi terms “sewa” (selfless service) and “daya” (compassion). As hospices are almost entirely charity-funded, they are a prime example of sewa and daya, helping improve thousands of people’s lives and their experiences of end-of-life care every single year. Not only do hospices support patients with life-limiting conditions with their physical symptoms, they also help both patients and families with the psychological challenges faced at such an emotional time. 

Why do we need to talk about death and dying, and how does Pilgrims help people to do this?

I’m inspired by Bhagat Puran Singh Ji (1904-1992), a prominent Sikh personality who was a humanitarian and environmentalist. He founded Pingalwara in Amritsar, a refuge for the sick, disabled, destitute, and abandoned, which developed into a charity that continues to flourish, expand and serve hundreds of thousands.

Bhagat Puran Singh Ji once stated: “Dignity in death is a birthright of each living thing.” His advocacy for death with dignity centred on ensuring that those who were terminally ill spent their final days in cleanliness, comfort, and love, without suffering – allowing them to die peacefully, cared for, and respected.

I believe the teachings and acts of service I have looked up to have naturally been embedded in the Pilgrims’ vision and care. Pilgrims encourage patient and family involvement from the first assessment and beyond – ensuring that patient wishes and dignity are upheld to the best of our abilities. As a multidisciplinary team, we all strive to work together to assess needs, prioritise patient comfort, provide wider support to family and friends, and ensure patient wishes are at the forefront of everything we do.

Pilgrims Hospices provides compassionate, specialist care free of charge to thousands of people in East Kent each year who are living with life-limiting conditions. Support is offered in patients’ homes, in the
community, and at our three hospice sites in Canterbury, Thanet and Ashford. We also run a 24-hour advice line.