Palliative and End of Life Care

We see short-term inpatients at Florence Nightingale Hospice, Stoke Mandeville. Our hospice has 11 inpatient beds and 1 day-case bed.

We care for and support patients who need:

• pain and symptom management
• end of life care
• re-assessment and re-evaluation
• ongoing care planning
• occupational and physiotherapy assessments as appropriate

We also treat day case patients that would normally take place in a hospital setting, for example blood transfusions.

There’s a high demand for this service which means that we’re unable to offer long-term care.

We accept admissions 24 hours a day.

Based at Florence Nightingale Hospice, we offer individual care through therapeutic treatments, pain and symptom relief, psychological and spiritual support. The hospice also provides a social setting for patients to learn new skills and share their personal worries.

The day hospice can take up to 12 patients a day, 4 days a week. Our clinical team assesses new patients and offers a 12 week goal orientated placement if appropriate. We can extend the  placement if needed.

We also run a 12 week programme for patients with chronic lung disease and heart failure. We help patients to understand the holistic nature of their breathing problems and explain how to develop new coping mechanisms to improve their quality of life.

Our highly trained clinical nurse specialists offer advice, support, and symptom control to patients, their families and carers, helping patients to stay at home for as long as possible.

We visit patients in their own home and assess the most appropriate form of ongoing support, either by telephone or home visit. The team works closely with other health professionals including district nurses, GPs, hospital and other hospice staff to provide a seamless level of care for each patient.

We treat patients at Florence Nightingale Hospice who experience immobility and physical discomfort from swollen limbs due to primary or secondary lymphatic damage.

After specialist assessment, ongoing treatment might include skin care, exercises, compression bandaging and massage. We mainly offer clinic based appointments but can offer home appointments in certain circumstances. The service operates during normal office hours.

We assess and treat patients across all our services. Our team includes a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, chaplain and therapy assistant/discharge facilitator.

Our medical team provides outpatient appointments and home visits, as well as medical support to the hospital team on the Stoke Mandeville site. We also offer a 24-hour advice line for healthcare professionals across all settings.

Our trained bereavement volunteers offer support to families and carers following the death of a loved one. A specially trained team also provides bereavement support to children facing the loss of siblings, parents or grandparents.

What happens when a patient dies in hospital?

A member of the bereavement services team will contact you by phone the day after the patient’s death to tell  you that we have completed the Medical certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD).

You will need to register the death online. If you do not have access to a computer, we can help you complete the paperwork. Call us on 01296 382581.

There is an £11 charge for a death certificate.

The Registrar will send you the death certificate by secure post.

You will also receive a phone call from the medical examiner. This is an independent senior doctor working at the hospital to make sure that the information on the MCCD is correct. They will talk through the MCCD with the designated family member and answer any questions you may have.

Collecting property

If there’s property to collect, call us on 01296 315381 between 9am and 4pm. We’ll arrange an appointment for you to come and collect it.

Further support

A member of our bereavement listening team will call you to find out how you are and tell you about sources of support and advice available to you.

If you have any questions about the steps you need to take, please call the team on 01296 316646 between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday.

Mortuary Service

We provide support for the HM Coroner and Home Office forensic and hospital postmortems. We have permanent and temporary body storage facilities at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and also offer tissue retrieval services including heart valves and corneas for donation

Our team offers respite care at home to children with life-limiting illnesses. We provide individually tailored care, adapted to your child’s and family’s needs.

• Care in the last days of life at home
• Care in the last few days of life in hospital
• Treatment escalation plans