Patient Care Handbook

What is hospice care and support?

Our goal is to help our patients live well to their last day, and to support their families and friends up to and beyond that point. We never forget that everyone is unique, bringing with them their own set of circumstances, priorities and personality.

Many people come to us thinking that support from the Hospice is only available in the last days of someone's life. They also think the care we offer is only provided on the Hospice premises. In fact, people with a life-limiting condition can make use of our services for many months and most of our care is provided in the community.

Who the Hospice supports

The Hospice focuses on the person, rather than their illness. This means we can support you medically, physically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually, depending on your needs. Our staff are experts in their fields and aim to support you through the times when you need it most.

Our goal is to support everyone who needs specialist end-of-life care when and where it matters most to them. This means we provide professional care in the Hospice, over the phone, or in the person's home - including care homes.

We want everyone to feel welcome, valued and respected, whoever they are and wherever they're from.

St Peter's Hospice is not affiliated to any faith; our approach is to support people of all faiths and none.

What happens once you've been referred?

New patients are mostly referred to us by a health or social care professional such as your GP or Community Nurse, or by your hospital team.

After you've been referred to us, one of our Nurses will phone you to discuss what happens next. The Nurse will talk you through the Hospice services and support available and address any urgent issues. You are unique, so the Nurse will offer specific services based on what you need at that time. If things change, we adapt to support your changing needs. Please let us know if you have any communication or learning needs that we can support you with.

Everyone's different. We provide support with that in mind, and your care can be changed as your needs change.

Advance care planning

Some people value the chance to let us know their views, preferences and wishes about their future care. Doing this when you're able to means that these factors can be taken into account if you were to become unable to make decisions for yourself. If you’d like to know more about this, our experienced team will be able to guide you through the process and will involve whoever is important to you.

What happens if you, or your family, need advice about your care?

We have a 24-hour Advice Line available to you every day of the year. Just call 0117 915 9430.

Anyone living with a progressive, life-limiting illness can call the Advice Line, even if they're not currently under our care and the same goes for their carers and loved ones.

At busy times, our answer phone or a member of the administration team ensures that no call is missed, if you leave a message, a Nurse will always return your call.

Emergencies

In a life-threatening emergency, please dial 999 immediately. For urgent medical help call 111.

Keeping people safe from harm and abuse

St Peter's is committed to keeping every adult and child who has contact with our service safe from harm and abuse. If you have concerns about your safety or the safety of someone else, please speak with a member of our staff. In certain situations, to ensure the safety of those involved, we may need to share the information you have provided to us - but will always discuss this with you first. We're here to listen, provide support, and discuss options with you.

People you might meet in the Hospice team

Nurses

Nurses are an integral part of many of our Hospice teams, working both in a patient's home, and the Hospice building. They provide high quality care and support tailored to meet each patient's physical, social, spiritual and emotional needs.

Doctors

Our Doctors are specialists in palliative medicine. They work across the organisation both in the community and the Inpatient Unit, offering advice to help your physical and psychological symptoms to reduce distress and discomfort, personalising how they care for you so they can meet your specific needs as much as possible.

Palliative Care Support Workers

Palliative Care Support Workers are essential to the care we give. Our Palliative Care Support Workers are well-trained, experienced staff who work within our clinical teams to care for you in every setting.

Therapists

Our Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Therapy Assistants work with patients and their families, setting goals, enabling people to remain as independent as possible and building a greater sense of wellbeing and control. Our Complementary Therapists work with patients using therapies to support general wellbeing, provide relaxation and help with feelings of isolation.

Psychological support

Finding out that you or a loved one has a life-limiting illness can have a huge impact on your emotional wellbeing. Talking to someone can help. Our Psychological Therapies team is dedicated to supporting the emotional wellbeing of our patients, those close to them and the bereaved. Alongside our listening therapy, you can get involved in a range of other therapies including music, art, mindfulness and body-based practices. Our team sees people individually or in any kind of family group. They work with all age groups, including young children affected by the illness or loss of a loved one.

Spiritual Care team

Our Spiritual Care team is dedicated to offering a respectful, inclusive service to support people of all faiths, or of no faith, whether they are a patient or a Carer. Our hope is that people from all traditions will feel at home in our care. The team is ready to support you, whether you need someone to talk to, have an ongoing faith need, are questioning your faith, need help arranging sacraments or simply need someone to sit with you. If you would like a visit from your own faith community, our team can arrange this for you.

Social work team

It can be helpful to talk about your needs with a Social Worker, as they may be able to find practical ways of helping you as well as offering emotional support. Our Social Workers help patients, families and carers with a range of social and practical issues. The people in our social work team can help wherever is best for the patient: in their home, as an in-patient at the Hospice or, patients living at home can come into the Hospice to make use of our Wellbeing Service.

Our Social Workers can help by:

• Supporting people at risk

• Supporting carers

• Responding to benefit enquiries and applying for grants

• Dealing with housing concerns

• Talking through home care and nursing home options

• Providing general advice on Wills

Carers Support Line

We understand that caring for someone with a life-limiting illness can be difficult at times, and we're here to support you, so please do ask us for help. You can call our Carers Support Line to:

• Talk through any concerns or worries

• Receive practical advice and guidance

• Get signposted to the right services and support

• Get help liaising with other agencies, such as Social Services advocacy

Carers Support Line: 0117 915 9450
Available: Monday to Friday, 10am–4pm

Hospice volunteers

The Hospice has a team of amazing volunteers who help in all sorts of practical and supportive ways. At the Hospice itself, you'll find them on our Main Reception, running the Coffee Shop, in our Wellbeing Services, on the Inpatient Unit or maintaining our wonderful gardens. In the community, our Volunteer Drivers transport people where they need to get to in order to use the facilities and services that we offer, and our Hospice Neighbours can help with everyday tasks, like shopping, or a bit of company for you at home. We also have a team of specially trained volunteers providing support as part of our Psychological Therapy team and our Spiritual Care team providing pastoral support.

What support you might receive at home

Did you know? Nearly 90% of our care is in the community. That means the care is given in the patient's own home.

Many of our patients say they want to be at home. We can support you in your home, depending on your wishes and medical needs. If you live in a nursing home, we can provide support there. The care you receive at home will be carefully planned to meet you and your family's individual needs. You might receive:

• Telephone advice from our Advice Line Nurses

• Contact from a Community Nurse Specialist to provide advice and support to help manage physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual and social issues associated with illness, which may involve medication suggestions

• A review by one of our Doctors so we can manage your symptoms as well as possible.

• Contact from a Social Worker, Psychotherapist, Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist to look at how you can best be supported at home.

• Contact from someone in the Psychological Therapies Team

• Contact from one of our Hospice Neighbour volunteers who can provide practical and social support

• Care provided by our Hospice at Home Team

Care on the Inpatient Unit (IPU)

Sometimes, patients may benefit from the intensive input and support provided by the IPU. It can offer short term care, and patients are admitted based on the urgency and complexity of their needs. The average length of stay is about two weeks, while their symptoms stabilise. Some people will be able to return home after their stay; others might move to a nursing home for longer-term care. Some will spend the last days of their lives in the Hospice.

What is staying in the Hospice like?

All rooms are individual, with an en-suite bathroom and a view into the garden. Visitors are welcome, but there may be restrictions at times depending on current healthcare guidance. You can find the latest information here.

You can find a tour of the Hospice here, and answers to lots of the frequently asked questions about smoking, meals, visitors, what to bring etc.

Parking

Parking is free at the Hospice. There's plenty of nearby on-street parking too, so it's easy for friends and family to visit. You can see local transport links here.

Wellbeing Service

Patients can get involved with the range of programmes and services that our teams deliver. The Living Well Programme is an eight-week structured series of sessions that helps provide you with an opportunity to ask questions and learn where to find information.

It also means that you get to know others in similar circumstances and can become part of a supportive community. Our Fatigue and Breathlessness five-week course covers Goal Setting, Activity and Movement, Energy Conservation, Breathlessness and Sleep and Appetite and includes some gentle chair-based exercises and a session of relaxation.

Open to people who are living with a life-limiting illness, as well as their families and carers, the Hospice Community Hub offers emotional support, practical advice and workshops and uplifting wellbeing activities like crafting. St Peter's aim is to help people adjust, connect, and live well through every stage of their journey.

The Hospice Community Hub offers a safe space for people to connect with others facing similar experiences. Please check here for more details about where and when these run.

Informal Drop-In sessions

Our informal drop-in sessions provide information about our services. They're a great opportunity for patients, family or friends to find out more about us. There's no need to book ahead, just drop in. You'll find details here about when and where they're happening.

How the Hospice is managed and funded

St Peter's is a charity. All our care is provided completely free of charge. That includes care at home, in our Inpatient Unit, and through our community and support services. There's no cost to you or your family - and there never will be.

As a charity, we rely on the generosity of our community to make this possible.

Only around 20% of our funding comes from the NHS. The rest is raised through a combination of:

• One-off and regular donations from individuals, families and community groups

• Gifts in Wills, which help fund the care of nearly one in five of our patients

• Fundraising events and community activities

• Our charity shops, which raise vital funds

• Our weekly lottery, which is a fun and easy way to support our work

• Support from local businesses, who give time, money and gifts in kind

• Trusts and Foundations, whose generous grants help us reach more people

Every donation, big or small, helps us continue to provide expert, compassionate care for people facing the end of their life, and for those closest to them.

There's never any expectation to give. But if you're ever curious about how we're funded, or how others choose to support us, we're always happy to talk.

For information on making a donation, or to find out about our free Will-writing services, please contact our fundraising team on 01275 391 400 or supportercare@stpetershospice.org

How the Hospice is regulated

Our clinical care is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of all health and social care services. The CQC carries out regular inspections to ensure we're providing safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care. You can read inspection reports here, and on the CQC website at cqc.org.uk.

Charity regulation

As a registered charity with the Charity Commission, we're governed by a board of Trustees who are collectively responsible for the governance, management, and administration of the Hospice. More information about our Trustees is available here. We're also registered with the Fundraising Regulator and meet the Code of Fundraising Practice.

Protecting your data

The Hospice keeps records about the healthcare and treatment patients receive so we can deliver care safely and effectively. Your data is protected under UK law. The Hospice has a Caldicott Guardian who is responsible for protecting the confidentiality of people's health and care information but also sharing appropriate information when necessary. Every healthcare provider must have one. Ours is Dr Anjali Mullick, Medical Director. Our privacy policy for patients, families and carers is here where you can find out more about how we protect and share data.

For more details, please contact our Caldicott Guardian via email on Anjali.Mullick@stpetershospice.org or you can write to her at St Peter's Hospice, Charlton Road, Brentry, Bristol, BS10 6NL.

Tell us what you think

At St Peter's we want to provide the best service we can and we're striving to do better all the time. We really want to hear from you so we can learn what works for you and what doesn't. That way we can keep improving and developing our services. We want to hear it all: compliments, comments, complaints or concerns - it all helps us support our patients and their loved ones better.

There are many ways to tell us about your experience of the care and support you've received or that of your family or friends. There is information on how to give us feedback here, or you can always speak to any member of the St Peter's team who can help point you in the right direction to tell us what you think. You're also welcome to write to us:

Patient Safety and Quality Team
St Peter's Hospice
Charlton Road
Bristol BS10 6NL
Email: Patientfeedback@stpetershospice.org

Key contacts

In a life-threatening emergency, please dial 999 immediately. For urgent medical help call 111.

Below we have provided a list of useful St Peter's and Sirona contacts:

• Sirona Care & Health Single Point of Access: 0300 125 6789

• St Peter's 24-Hour Clinical Advice Line: 0117 915 9430

• St Peter's Carers Support Line: Mon - Fri, 10am - 4pm, 0117 915 9450

• St Peter's Social Work team: Mon - Fri, 9am-5pm, 0117 915 9450

• St Peter's Community Nurse Specialist team: Mon - Fri, 9am - 4.30pm, 0117 915 9493

• St Peter's Wellbeing Service and Therapy team: Mon - Fri, 9am-5pm, 0117 915 9469

• St Peter's Psychological Therapies team: Mon - Fri, 8am - 4pm, 0117 915 9544

• Hospice Neighbours: Mon - Fri, 8.30am - 4.30pm, 0117 915 9448