The aim of the service is to promote and
contribute to the provision of high quality care for all adult
patients and their families with palliative or end of life care
needs within the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust at all stages
of the care pathway.
Palliative care has been defined
as…..”The active holistic care of patients with advanced
progressive illness. Management of pain and other symptoms and the
provision of psychological, social and spiritual support is
paramount. The goal of palliative care is achievement of the best
quality of life for patients and their families” (National
Institute for Clinical Excellence, 2004).
Core hospital team members
Nurse Consultant/Clinical Nurse Specialists
Occupational Therapists
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Palliative Care Nurses
Social Worker
Administrative /secretarial support
Limited specialist palliative medicine input is provided by the
consultants in palliative medicine from Duchess of Kent House,
Reading and Sue Ryder Hospice, Nettlebed.
Nurse Consultant End of Life Care Susi Lund
Consultants in palliative medicine
Dr Paul Howard Duchess of Kent House, Reading
Dr Maeve McKeogh & Dr Pat
Strubbe, Sue Ryder Care, Nettlebed.
Referral for Palliative Medicine Consultant assessment or
transfer to a Specialist Palliative Care Unit is via the RBFT
Hospital Palliative Care Team.
Description of service
The Hospital Palliative Care Team is a nurse led
multi-professional team. The team acts as a specialist palliative
and end of life care advisory and support resource for
patients/families and professionals within the Trust. We provide
this support through advice, shared direct care, leadership and
education.
If there are difficult to manage symptom control, psychological,
social, spiritual or family issues present, patients are referred
to the team to provide expert advice and direct specialist
intervention. Patients can be referred to the service with any life
limiting illness (e.g. cancer and other long term conditions). The
team works alongside medical and nursing ward teams, and other
specialist teams providing a service which complements the
patient’s current clinical team rather than replacing it or taking
over. The overall management of the patient remains the
responsibility of the patient’s current clinical team.
The team currently works Monday to Friday 08.30 -16.30.
A Saturday / Sunday service is available from 09.00 - 16.00 when
one clinical nurse specialist is on duty to provide advice and to
accept urgent referrals. To access this service please ring the
Hospital switchboard as shown on the right hand side of the page
(above).
Useful Contacts
Monday - Friday 08.30-16.30
Palliative Care Team telephone 0118
3227826 (answer phone)
Saturdays & Sundays 09.00-16.00
For urgent advice contact the hospital switch
board on 0118 3225111 and ask them to bleep 905, otherwise leave a
message on the answer-phone on 0118 3227 826. (Messages may
not be responded to until the following working day.)