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Welcome to the Health Care Professionals section of our website. Within this section you will find out further information on our service, the referral procedure and details of our medical team.

Many Health Care Professionals are aware that we provide an adults inpatient service, however, we also provide much more. Please take time to read through details of all our Adult Services and our Frequently Asked Questions to find out more about the breadth of our work.

The Hospice has a contractual arrangement with four Health Authorities to provide care for their patient, following review by the team, if appropriate patients are allocated into one of the following services:

1. Admission to the Inpatient Unit
   Referrals for admission are discussed by the multidisciplinary team every weekday morning and a decision is made as to when/if the patient can be admitted. The decision to admit is based on patient and family need, workload score, nurse and medical staffing levels and bed availability. The inpatient unit provides multi-disciplinary care and support for patients with complex emotional, physical and spiritual problems. We aim for patients to be offered admission to the Hospice inpatient unit, within 14 days of referral or within 48 hours if the referral is urgent, emergencies can be admitted at any time, subject to bed availability. If time permits, an information booklet is posted to patients prior to admission. If not, they are given out on admission to the unit.
2. Outpatient Appointment
   There are four Palliative Care Clinics per week, five Lymphoedema clinics, one Dyspnoea Clinic and one complementary clinic. Patients are usually seen in palliative care clinics within 3 weeks of referral, but can be seen within five days if the need is urgent. Referrals for Lymphoedema clinics will be seen within 6 months unless the need is urgent.
3. Day Hospice Attendance
   There are 80 places available each week for patients who need ongoing assessment, support and regular respite for themselves and their carers. Patients are assessed prior to a formal offer of a place. Transport can be provided to and from the Day Hospice.
4. Day Treatment
   The Day Treatment Unit offers treatment to patients who would otherwise need to be admitted to the Hospice or other unit. The unit is open Monday-Friday 8.45 am to 4.45 pm. The unit is run by registered nurses with advanced training in symptom control and lymphoedema treatment. Treatments offered include transfusions, lymphoedema treatment, pain and symptom control.
5. Ward Consultation
   Ward Consultations can be done most weekdays and a Hospice doctor will usually visit within three days of the request, or sooner if the need is urgent. The aim of the consultation is to provide advice on pain and symptom control to the hospital team providing care for the patient.
   • Claud Regnard – Newcastle (Freeman hospital)
   • Paul Macnamara – Northumberland (MacMillan Nurse Teams)
   • Andrew Hughes – Gateshead (Queen Elizabeth and Community)
6. Domiciliary Visit
   Domiciliary Visits are offered to patients who are too ill to travel to the Hospice and for whom admission is not appropriate. The GP and District or Macmillan Nurses will be invited to join the visit. The aim of most domiciliary visits is to give advice on pain and symptom control to the community team. They take place on most weekdays, the urgency being decided by the referring doctor. A Hospice doctor will visit within 3 days if urgent, otherwise within 10 days.

Follow Up After Discharge from Inpatient Unit:

Follow Up is provided via Outpatients, attendance at the Day Hospice or Day Treatment Unit and every effort is made to inform all professionals involved in the patient’s progress. Some patients are discharged from hospice services into the care of community or hospital teams.