Contact Telephone Number
01244 366 086
Monday – Friday
09:00AM – 17:00PM excluding bank holidays
Service Summary
The Countess of Chester Hospital Specialist Palliative Care Team seeks to empower staff to undertake the assessment of patients with life limiting illnesses and support those important to them. We will raise the profile of end of life care through education and delivery of high quality care, as it is everyone’s responsibility. The Hospital Specialist Palliative Care Team will provide holistic care for patients with complex needs and deliver evidence based practice reflecting national standards
How to Refer?
A referral can be made by health care professionals.
Criteria include:
Patients with advanced, progressive, incurable, malignant and non-malignant disease who have complex physical, psychological, spiritual, social or carer needs
Where the above patient and/or family needs are unable to be met by health care professionals in the current care setting and may be met by a specialist palliative care service
Where the current health professional require support and advice of the specialist palliative care service, e.g. patients dying with complex needs, challenging ethical dilemmas or complex communication issues
How to refer:
Electronically via Meditech
For urgent referrals – ring extension 6086 or bleep 2689
For all referrals on Emergency Department, Acute Medical Unit, and Ambulatory Care Unit – bleep 3420
Supporting Information
Definitions:
Palliative care is the holistic care of patients with advanced, progressive, incurable illness, focused on the management of a patients’ pain and other distressing symptoms and the provision of psychological, social and spiritual support to patients and their family.
Palliative care is not dependent on diagnosis or prognosis, can be provided at any stage of a patients illness, not only in the last few days of life. The objective is to support patients to live as well as possible until they die and to die with dignity (GMC, 2010).
End of life care is care that: Helps all those with advanced, progressive, incurable illness to live as well as possible until they die. It enables the supportive and palliative care needs of both patient and family to be identified and met throughout the last phase of life and into bereavement. It includes management of pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social, spiritual and practical support. (National Council for Palliative Care 2006 The End of Life Care Strategy 2008)