Hairdresser Gives Free Haircuts to Hospice Patients

Kelly Wingard knows exactly what terminally ill patients need because she watched her father die without the comfort of a proper hospice.

The Rockhampton hairdresser now volunteers at Fitzroy Community Hospice, giving free haircuts to patients facing their final days. She remembers sleeping on towels and pillows in a cold hospital room, refusing to leave her father's side.

"It was a sterile, palliative room," Wingard recalls. "We were sleeping on the floor, but we weren't going to leave him."

That experience drove her to help when the central Queensland community opened the hospice in 2024. Now she brings her scissors and warmth to up to 12 terminally ill patients at a time.

"We all know if our hair's not right, sometimes we don't even want to go out," Wingard explains. She helps patients dealing with hair loss from treatments, blending and styling to help them feel more like themselves.

The hospice offers what Wingard's family never had during their "darkest, most vulnerable moment." She's one of many volunteers bringing small comforts that make a big difference.

Sunny's Take

Wingard describes her hospice clients as "like extended family." She carves out time from running her own business because she understands the profound impact of feeling cared for during life's final chapter.

Clinical services manager Megan Anderson says the hospice fills a critical gap, but planning remains essential. Only one in three Australians have discussed their end-of-life care wishes, according to a 2025 survey.

"Practitioners know your illness better than most of us, but they don't know what you want," Anderson explains. Having those difficult conversations helps families make decisions more easily when the time comes.

Palliative Care Queensland reports about 70 people die daily in the state from expected deaths they could have planned for. The organization is pushing to extend the state's Palliative and End-Of-Life Care Strategy beyond its June 30 expiration date.

For Wingard, the work is deeply personal and universally necessary. "I make time for the hospice because it's a very worthy facility," she says. "And we're all going to need it one day, aren't we?"