In November 2011 we launched an appeal to start a 24hour Hospice at Home service. At present our community team visit patients in their homes during office hours and are on call at weekends – but what happens in the middle of the night when our patients are at their most vulnerable?
A Hospice at Home service would enable us to be there for support, reassurance and guidance whatever the time of day or night. The service will offer a highly personalised combination of treatment and palliative care that normally each patient would receive in the Hospices – but in their own homes.
The first step is to achieve this is the provision of a 24hr telephone Advice Line. Due to the fantastic response to the first and second stage of our appeal, this was successfully launched in April 2012. Patients or relatives can speak to a specially trained advisor and if needs be, they will be able to contact with the appropriate experts who will be able to provide assistance. This will help to avoid many of those distressing, unecessary trips to hospital and will also be a direct support and comfort to those who are caring for their loved ones in their own homes.
As well as our 24hour telephone Advice Line, we are now working in collaboration with other healthcare professionals to provide a night sitting service which will provide health care assistants (HCA’s) who can visit patient’s homes from 10pm until 7am to provide support and care to the patients and their families.
We are also planning to extend the hours of the clinical nurse specialists to offer an 8am to 8pm service (currently 9am to 5pm) and are hoping this will be in place by April. Their main duties will be to monitor the 24hr telephone advice line, visit patients when needed, make advance assessments and carry out crisis management to avoid hospital admissions.
If you would like to donate to the Hospice at Home Appeal, please download this form, complete and send to: Hospice at Home, Woking Hospice, Hill View Road, Woking, Surrey GU22 7HW. The Hospice at Home service is for both Hospices. Please state your donation is for Hospice at Home.
Thank you for your support.
