Palliative care
If you have been told that you or your child may not get better, you might also have heard about palliative care.
Palliative care is for people living with a terminal illness where a cure is no longer possible. It is not just for people diagnosed with terminal cancer, but any terminal condition.
It is also for people who have a complex illness and need their symptoms controlled. Although these people usually have an advanced, progressive condition, this is not always the case.
Palliative care aims to treat or manage pain and other physical symptoms. It will also help with any psychological, social, or spiritual needs. Support may involve medicines, therapies, and any other support that specialist teams believe will help. Palliative care also includes caring for people who are nearing the end of life. This is called end of life care.
The goal is to help everyone affected by the diagnosis to achieve the best quality of life.
Palliative Care Hub
A free out of hours phone service is now available to patients, relatives, friends, and all healthcare professionals providing specialist advice and support to those with life limiting illnesses in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
More information can be found here.
East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH)
East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) supports families and cares for children and young people, 0-18 years, with life-threatening conditions across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and North, Mid and West Essex. Their family centred approach includes specialist nursing care, symptom management support, short breaks, wellbeing activities, therapies and counselling; all meeting the individual needs of the child, young person and whole family.
Their hospices aren’t just about end-of-life care; they’re often very happy and fun places, where young people can live life to their full potential. They are places where families feel safe, at home and where they can spend quality time together, enabling parents to be parents not caregivers. When time is short, they help families make the most of their precious time together.
EACH offers care to families with children and young people who:
-
live in North, Mid and West Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire
-
have a condition with no reasonable hope of cure and from which they may/will die in childhood or early adulthood
-
have a condition (or are diagnosed with a condition in the antenatal period) for which curative treatment may be feasible but can fail, such as children and young people with cancer and for babies born where intensive care has been deemed inappropriate and those with post-natal conditions which result in the baby experiencing unbearable suffering in the course of their illness or treatment.
Families can self-refer, or be referred by a health professional, by contacting the hospices by:
Telephone (01223 815100)
Email ipswichadmin@each.org.uk
Using their website.
Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice
Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice is the only specialist palliative care inpatient unit in Peterborough. They provide care and support for people who are living with life-limiting conditions, as well as supporting their families.
Their services include:
- Inpatient care
- Virtual day services
- Family and bereavement support
- Complementary therapies
- Spiritual care
- Hospice at Home
Patients can be referred by their GP, consultant, or other healthcare professional by downloading one of the referral forms, and returning it to the hospice (instructions and contact details are on the form).
More details are on their website.