Woodlands Hospice | Hospice Care for North Liverpool, South Sefton and Kirkby in Knowsely

Telephone
0151 529 2299

Hospice at Home

What is Woodlands Hospice at Home?

Woodlands Hospice at Home provides extra support for patients living with life-limiting illnesses and those approaching the end of their lives. The service helps patients stay at home for as long as possible by providing additional support, often at short notice. The service works alongside GPs, District Nurses and other community services to enhance what care is already available and not replace it.

 

Who is eligible to receive the service?

 Those with a life-limiting illness, who will:

  • Be registered with a South Sefton GP
  • Have expressed their preferred place of care as ‘home’
  • Be receiving care from their District Nurses (it doesn’t matter how often this is)
  • Be in a receipt of or eligible for continuing health care funding (if you are not sure if you’re eligible for this please ring and discuss with us)
  • You, your family members/carers, or health care professionals such as your GP or District Nurse are able to refer you to be assessed for this service by calling 0151 529 8672.

 

What services are available?

There are three elements to the service:

Care Shifts

Woodlands Hospice at Home provides specially trained Health Care Assistants who support patients and their families in their homes for a period of several hours during the day or night, working alongside the District Nursing teams and other community services.

These care shifts are an additional top-up to any CHC package of care, and we are usually able to provide 1-2 shifts per week as a maximum. The shifts are available day and night, depending on each individual patient’s needs; shift times can be discussed upon referral to the service, but we endeavour to be flexible wherever we can.

 

Accompanied transfer home

Leaving the hospice or hospital can be very daunting. On discharge, Hospice at Home Health Care Assistants or nurses may accompany you home from the hospice or hospital and help you and your family through the first few hours at home, before handing over to the District Nursing and/or care package service for ongoing support.

 

Crisis Intervention/­Prevention

Sometimes patients with serious illnesses are admitted to the hospice or hospital because things become difficult to manage at home. In order to try and reduce or avoid being admitted to hospital, where this is not the most appropriate setting for you, the Hospice at Home consultant team, working in collaboration with your GP and community nurses, may visit you at home to provide specialist advice and support or give specialist advice over the phone to you or those looking after you.

You can request this by contacting the Integrated Mersey Palliative Care Team (IMPaCT) on 0300 100 1002, 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, who can provide telephone advice and support out of hours, and can arrange any assessments from any member of the multi-disciplinary team, which will take place during normal working hours.

 

What can I expect from the Hospice at Home Health Care Assistant (HCA)?

The HCA will provide holistic care and support to you and your family or carers during their visit. This will be agreed between the Hospice at Home Clinical Co-ordinator and you and your family prior to the first visit.

 

Who does the Hospice at Home team consist of?

  • Clinical Co-ordinators (senior Registered Nurses)
  • Small team of specialist Health Care Assistants

 

What will the Health Care Assistant need in my home?

Obviously, it depends on how long a period of time the Health Care Assistant is spending in your home. It would be really helpful, particularly for night shifts, if the member of staff had access to:

  • A comfortable chair, in a warm room (it’s easy to forget that heating is sometimes set to go off at night)
  • A lamp by which to read and write, so they can document in your records
  • A telephone landline for emergency calls only (in the event of their own mobile failure)
  • A power outlet for charging a mobile phone
  • Toilet and hand-washing facilities
  • Tea or coffee-making facilities
  • A means of securing the home whilst inside it, e.g., door locks

In order to protect the health and safety of our staff members, we would ask that there is no smoking in the room at the time of the visit. We would also ask that pets be kept under control or be in a different room.

 

How will the Hospice at Home team know if I am happy with the Service?

Following each use of the service, the HCA reports back to the clinical coordinators so that any problems can be highlighted and acted upon. Family will be contacted weekly by the coordinators to plan further support, and you can give any feedback during these calls about the service you receive. A form is included in this introduction pack if you wish to make further comments.

 

What if I have a problem?

We hope that our service will meet your needs, but if it does not, rest assured, we want to know. In the first instance, please speak with the person who is providing the service to you. If this does not resolve the problem, please speak with one of the clinical team by telephoning 0151 529 8672.

If you still feel you have an unresolved issue, please contact: Clinical Services Manager, 0151 529 2637