Spiritual/religious needs: These include having a sense of hope and inner peace and being able to participate in cultural observances and in prayers. The above may not constitute an exhaustive list of patients’ needs, but it is certainly a daunting one. Ley and Van Bommel (1994) commented that the
hospice caregiver may have to become a surrogate family to the patient, for it takes a family to assist in fulfilling so many and diverse needs.