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.

Please read an update about Changes to home-based hospice care provision in Buckinghamshire from 1 January 2025.

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.

Please see our Bereavement and Medical Examiner service page.

Find out more about the National audit of care at the end of life bereavement survey

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.

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