Information about our Supportive and Palliative Care Service

What is supportive and palliative care?

The aim of supportive and palliative care is to help you to have a good quality of life. It is most commonly offered to patients and their families who are facing challenges associated with life-limiting illness. However, we can also offer the services alongside curative treatment of serious conditions. This includes cancer of all types, and other progressive diseases, such as:

• heart failure

• kidney failure

• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

• pulmonary fibrosis

• motor neurone disease (MND)

• multiple sclerosis (MS)

• multi-systems atrophy, and

• dementia.

Life-limiting illnesses can affect all aspects of life, including physical, spiritual, social, psychological / emotional, and work. Supportive and palliative care embraces all these areas.

We also recognise that what is happening to you also affects those you love and care for. We try to offer support for them as well.

Why have I been referred?

• We often see patients who need advice managing complex symptoms linked with their medical condition. These symptoms can include pain and nausea (feeling sick).

• The doctors looking after you in hospital may have recently given you bad news about your medical condition. They feel that you may like to talk about this with someone not directly involved with your medical team.

• You may need to consider the risks and benefits of further treatment, in terms of your ongoing quality of life.

We can talk through the above with you and your family.

Who are the Supportive and Palliative Care team?

• Consultants in Palliative Medicine

  Some work between the hospitals and local hospice.

• Consultant Nurse Supportive and Palliative Care

  Responsible for all three hospital sites:

  • Kent and Canterbury Hospital (K&C);

  • Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) Hospital; and

  • William Harvey Hospital (WHH).

• Lead Nurse Supportive and Palliative Care

  Works alongside the consultant nurse. Is responsible for all three hospital sites.

• Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) Supportive and Palliative Care

  Covers all three hospital sites.

In addition

We work closely with the medical and nursing teams caring for you in hospital, and many other professionals involved in your care. These include:

• specialists in cancer and other diseases

• your GP (or family doctor)

• counsellors

• hospital chaplains

• district nurses / community matrons

• local hospice teams

How can we help you?

We can provide help in many ways.

• Pain and symptom control.

• Support through serious illness.

• Help planning your discharge from hospital. We aim to achieve your preferred place of care.

• Telling you about other services that might be helpful, including care at home. We also explain the role of the hospice and the support they can provide.

• Help with advice on financial issues.

• Help you plan your future care, so that where possible your wishes are respected and met.

• As the end of your life approaches, we can help you to make the most of the time you have left, in the place you want to be.

• Help with having difficult conversations with loved ones and those you care for.

If there is something important to you not covered in the list above, please talk to us about it. We will help if we can.

Your supportive and palliative care contact:

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Role: _____________________________________________________________

Contact number: _________________________________________________

Contact details

• Supportive and Palliative Care
  Kent and Canterbury Hospital and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) Hospital
  Telephone: 01227 766877. Ask to speak to a member of the Supportive and Palliative Care team.

• Supportive and Palliative Care
  William Harvey Hospital
  Telephone: 01233 633331. Ask to speak to a member of the Supportive and Palliative Care team.

What do you think of this leaflet?

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If you would rather talk to someone instead of filling in a survey, please call the Patient Voice Team.

• Patient Voice Team
  Telephone: 01227 868605
  Email