Palliative Care At Home
Palliative Care At Home
Our community specialist palliative care team based at Forest Holme Hospice can support you at home, or in nursing homes or residential care homes. Our team of specialist palliative care nurses link with GP surgeries across Poole, Wimborne, Cranborne, and the Isle of Purbeck.
Expert advice and support
Your nurse can offer expert advice to help you manage any symptoms you may have, such as pain, sickness, shortness of breath, constipation, tiredness or poor appetite. They may help you adjust your medication and advise on other ways of helping you to cope with the effects of disease. They also offer emotional support, helping you and your family cope with the impact of illness, treatment, fears and worries and the uncertainty of living with a life-threatening condition. Your nurse can also advise on other hospice services which may be of benefit.
The team has a key role to play in communicating and liaising with doctors, nurses and other people involved in your care.
There when you need us
Following referral, your specialist palliative care nurse will contact you to arrange a suitable time to visit you at home or invite you to attend a clinic. They will undertake an assessment to identify your individual needs and discuss with you and your family how we can best help. They will leave their contact telephone details for you.
The specialist palliative care nurses are available from Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm. After this time, or overnight and at weekends, advice is available from 24hr hour advice line.
If you are unsure of your nurse’s telephone number, you can call 0300 019 8115 for assistance.
Palliative Care Advice Line
We offer a 24 hour telephone advice line for patients, relatives and healthcare professionals.
Your query will be answered by a specialist nurse or an experienced ward nurse in the first instance, with support from the medical team as required.