HospiceCare North Northumberland

Introduction

We are a community nurse-led service working in partnership with Primary Heathcare teams, Social Services, hospitals and other voluntary organisations. There is a range of services available, tailored and delivered to meet the individual’s needs. We offer friendship, empathy and a safe place to talk about fears and hopes for the future, whether in the Hospice’s welcoming and comfortable surroundings or in someone’s own home. Our services include:

• Day Hospice
• Therapeutic Clinics
• Lymphoedema care
• Complementary therapies
• Carer Support
• Bereavement service
• Hospice at Home

Day Hospices

There are two day hospices, one in Alnwick and one in Berwick, which both offer care and support in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Patients are offered professional support and advice from the nursing team who are supported by volunteers. Whilst the nursing team addresses the patient’s clinical need, such as emotional support, symptom control and nursing care, volunteers provide transport, serve meals and drinks, and activities such as arts and crafts. Complementary therapies are also available, including massage and relaxation, as well as peer support for patients. Whilst patients are cared for at the day hospice, carers are given the opportunity of some respite.

Berwick Centre, main patient room

Alnwick Centre, main patient room

Our facilities

Quiet patient room

Therapeutic clinics

Patients, families and carers can also access services on an appointment basis, if they prefer, as well as having the opportunity to drop in for a coffee and a chat. A programme of care and support is tailored to meet the needs of the individual and other professionals can be accessed such as a physiotherapist, Macmillan benefit advisers for financial advice, a lymphoedema nurse specialist, complementary therapist, and cognitive behaviour hypnotherapist. HospiceCare aims to help patients and carers to maintain a sense of well being and quality of life, whilst they adapt to their illness.

Lymphoedema service

HospiceCare provides treatments for advanced lymphoedema and is the only service available North of Newcastle. Lymphoedema is a swelling caused by failure or damage to the lymphatic system somewhere in the body. HospiceCare's service gives patients a programme of care and advice on skin care, self massage and exercises which will help their condition. Some patients require compression garments and more intensive treatment, such as a course of specialist massage and bandaging to reduce the swelling. As swelling can cause considerable physical and psychological distress, a very important part of the service involves listening to and discussing the patient’s worries and concerns.

Complementary therapies

Complementary Therapies are natural therapies which can be used in conjunction with orthodox medicine and nursing care. The HospiceCare North Northumberland offers:

• Aromatherapy
• Reflexology
• Massage
• Relaxation
• Reiki

All our complementary therapists work to agreed standards which have been drawn up by HospiceCare North Northumberland. Our therapists have all gained a recognised qualification in the therapy, which they offer. They have a professional Code of Practice to which they adhere.

Carer support

We offer carers' support on an appointment basis. These appointments offer an opportunity for discussion with a member of our clinical team to give assistance with coping strategies and information. They are offered to anyone caring for relatives with a life limiting disease. Complementary Therapy can be provided by appointment. We can arrange for someone to sit with your relative whilst you attend the support appointment if this is needed or you may wish to attend with your relative.

Bereavement Support

Our Bereavement Support Service is open to all, including those who have not had any previous contact with the Hospice. The service is delivered by trained and skilled volunteers who have a knowledge and understanding of the physical and emotional pain which people experience when grieving. The volunteers are not trained counsellors but provide a supportive "listening ear" either in someone's home or at the Hospice as a one to one appointment. The number of appointments and the length of time offered is matched to each person's individual need.

Hospice at Home

Our Hospice at Home service provides care and support to patients and their families in their own homes. The Hospice at Home team, who dedicate themselves to providing this service, are skilled and experienced Health Care Assistants who work in partnership with other health and social care providers such as PACH (Palliative Care at Home), District Nurses, family Doctors, Oncologists, Social Services and other care agencies to provide the essential care and support needed to help people stay in the comfort of their own home.

The timing of care and support delivered is tailored around the needs of the patient and family/carer putting those who matter at the centre of what we do. So if a carer needs to have a decent night's sleep support is provided overnight, or during the day giving the carer "their" time to go out and do what they want to do. Hospice at Home is also very much about supporting those who wish to die at home. This might involve providing the care at short notice to facilitate rapid discharge from hospital, as well as being there when a patient's condition begins to deteriorate.

Our professional Hospice at Home team is supported by volunteers who also play a valuable role by providing complementary therapies in the home or simply being with the patient whilst their carer goes shopping or to the hairdresser.

Moving Forward

As an increasing number of people are being treated successfully for cancer, the focus of care and support is shifting towards helping those individuals move forward emotionally and psychologically. Cancer survival begins the day of diagnosis and continues for the rest of the person’s life and although physically the cancer may no longer be present, the psychological impact can continue , particularly if the person is living with the uncertainty of whether the cancer might return.

Before a cancer diagnosis most people regard life as ‘normal’ then suddenly their world as they know it suddenly changes in often a shocking and frightening way by diagnosis of a potentially life threatening illness. Many people feel that their lives are turned upside down and out of control as their world starts revolving around hospitals and cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, it is often at the end of a person’s treatment when people start to think more deeply about what they have just been through and how it has left them feeling . People can also feel abandoned, scared and unsupported when hospital contact becomes less frequent and many ask themselves ‘who is watching over me now?’. Feelings and thoughts can become increasingly confusing as families and friends assume that all is well, the news is great and that a return to normality can take place! The person can often feel alone, depressed and anxious as they have come face to face with the possibility of death and now need to continue life in a way which accommodates the fear of the cancer returning.

HospiceCare’s Moving Forward Group has been developed to provide a supportive programme in a safe environment to help people 'living with' cancer or who have ‘survived’ cancer to begin to address their psychological and emotional well being. The Moving Forward Group offers professional guidance alongside peer support to help people look back over their cancer journey and by discussing common thoughts and feelings it gives individuals the foundations on which to re-build their lives and explore their 'new normality'.
For further information please ring the Hospice 01665 606515 and ask to speak to either Sue Gilbertson or Debbie Allan.
www.movingongroup.co.uk