IN-PATIENT UNIT
Saint Catherine’s has 16 singles rooms and 2 double rooms. Patients are admitted for symptom control, pain relief, rehabilitation, complex psychosocial problems and end-of-life care. The in-patient unit admits approximately 420 patients per year, and the average length of stay is 9 to 10 days. There is one bed designated for respite for patients with neurological disease. On average 60% of patients return home following a short stay on the in patient unit.
Neurology Service
The Neurology Service is a specialist resource in the provision of palliative care for people living with the progressive neurological conditions of Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neurone Disease, Multiple System Atrophy and Progressive Supra Nuclear Palsy.
Covering the hospice catchment area, the service supports patients and their families in the community, assisting them to access statutory, voluntary and hospice services as they require them. The neurology nurses work closely with other health and social care services and act as an information and educational resource.
OUT PATIENTS
The out patients clinic at the hospice is made up of a number of smaller clinics offering: physiotherapy, lymphoedema services, occupational and complimentary therapy.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is a health care profession concerned with human function and movement and maximising potential. It uses physical approaches to promote, maintain and restore physical, psychological and social well-being, taking account of variations in health status. It is science- based, committed to extending, applying, evaluating and reviewing evidence that underpins and informs its practice and delivery. The exercise of clinical judgement and informed interpretation is at its core.
Lymphoedema Service
Lymphoedema is a distressing; often debilitating and sometimes painful swelling, which can affect anywhere in the body but most commonly, affects a limb. It affects around 2% of the population in the UK. It occurs when the drainage routes through the lymphatic system of the body are inadequate, damaged, overloaded or become blocked. Many of the underlying causes are irreversible but the condition can usually be improved and controlled.
Understanding the condition and receiving advice on how to adapt to everyday activities are central elements to a person’s successful long-term management of lymphoedema.
Occupational Therapy
The Occupational Therapy service enables a person to maintain his/her quality of life in the face of loss and can assess how their illness impacts on their holistic life - their physical function, cognition and communication . This can incorporate personal and domestic activities, employment and leisure activities and the Occupational Therapist will use all their skills of assessment and their knowledge of equipment to enable people to achieve their desired activity.
At Saint Catherine’s Hospice, there are 1.5 Occupational Therapists who see patients on the In Patient Unit and Scarborough and Whitby Day Hospices. Maintaining independence to whatever degree, building self esteem, liaising with family, friends and carers are essential to this service and the OT’s work as part of the multi professional team in the Hospice and maintain professional liaison with a wider community team.
Complementary Therapy
Complementary therapies are offered to inpatients, outpatients and to people attending Day Hospice. The therapies consist of: aroma therapy and reflexology. The service is available to all who would benefit from specialist palliative care, and is offered to patients as part of the wider care of those with advanced incurable illness.
DAY HOSPICES
Saint Catherine’s has three Day Hospices; one based at the main Scarborough site, one based at Whitby and one recently opened in Ryedale. All the day hospices provide specialist medical care, treatment, advice and rehabilitation for people that require regular monitoring of their illness and for those that require diversion and respite. The day hospice is open 3 days a week in Scarborough, 2 days a week in Whitby and 1 day a week in Ryedale.
BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT
Helping children, young people and adults come to terms with bereavement.
Who do we support? Saint Catherine's Hospice provides a Bereavement Support Service (BSS) to the community as well as to relatives and friends of Hospice patients. We see children aged five and over, young people and adults who have experienced the death of a significant person in their life, whether the death was sudden or expected.
What do we offer?
Individual Support: people meet on a one-to-one basis with a supporter who has received specialist training in bereavement. All supporters work to agreed guidelines, are regularly supervised and work to professional standards. They have undergone Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks and have an awareness of child and vulnerable adults' protection procedures.
Group Support: available for children and young people. Please enquire about current opportunities.
Telephone support is available each Wednesday evening from 6pm to 8pm. Please call 01723 351421.
Education. The Bereavement Support Service aims to raise awareness of the needs of bereaved people within the community. We deliver courses through the Hospice Education Department and are happy to be a resource for schools. We work in collaboration with York St John University to deliver a validated bereavement module for professionals who come into contact with people experiencing loss, grief and bereavement. Anyone looking to work with us as a volunteer consellor is expected to attend this course.
Student counsellors. Each year we recruit student counsellors against a set of criteria. See document below to learn more.
For further information on Saint Catherine's Hospice's Bereavement Support Services please call 01723 351421 or email: bssgeneral@st-catherineshospice.org.uk
Click here to meet the team.
PATIENT & FAMILY SUPPORT
Palcall
Palcall is a palliative care, out of hours, telephone helpline for patients and carers. It is a nurse led service offering advice and information outside of normal surgery hours. This direct line is not available via the usual hospice telephone number. The Palcall telephone helpline gives direct access to a nurse with experience in specialist palliative care. This nurse is able to give advice and support within their level of competence. We are not able to send out nurses or doctors from the hospice but, if the patient needs attention, we will contact the on call NHS doctor or district nurse, on behalf of the caller.
Spiritual and pastoral care
Saint Catherine’s Hospice is fortunate to have its own chaplain, Rev Kathryn Jackson, who provides extremely valuable spiritual and pastoral care for patients. As a hospice that offers holistic care, a person’s spiritual and religious well-being is an important part of that. Rev Jackson helps people come to terms with their illness and also helps them to enjoy the life they have. As a member of the multi-disciplinary team, her role is to work alongside colleagues to help patients and improve their outlook and quality of life. This can mean sharing their faith with them, bringing in a minister from other faiths, joining in family celebrations or simply providing another caring shoulder.
Another aspect of her work which she enjoys is providing training in spiritual care for colleagues and other healthcare professionals.
Rev Jackson also organises the regular ‘Pause for Thought’ in the hospice chapel, the Christmas carol service and the annual memorial service. She combines the job with her role as Priest- in- Charge of St Columba’s, Scarborough.
Social work
The priority area of work for the Social Worker is involvement in discharge planning within the Inpatient Unit. In addition to this they are also involved with the other units within the Hospice, taking referrals from: Scarborough and Whitby Day Hospices and the specialist Neurology Nurses. The referrals could be around aspects of social care, for example – support in the community, including help with personal care, residential and nursing home placements, housing applications, finances, support for carers. The role is two-fold:
- Identifying assessed needs and arranging appropriate care provision to meet those needs, eg practical support
- Providing emotional (psychosocial) support, working with individuals – patients, their relatives, friends, through their loss and readjustment
The Social Worker operates as an integral part of the Multi-Disciplinary Team, enabling social care outcomes to be achieved at the right time for patients.
The full-time post is part funded by North Yorkshire Adult and Community Services (previously known as Social Services). This partnership funding enables the Social Worker direct access into that department for the commissioning of any required care provision. It also provides professional social work supervision and access to relevant personal professional development opportunities.
BRIDLINGTON & WHITBY
Bridlington, Wolds Unit
St Catherine's consultant physician, Dr Colin Campbell, visits the Macmillan Wolds unit at Bridlington Hospital once a week. The Macmillan Wolds unit is a modern and attractive 15-bedded ward, subdivided into rooms each with 4 beds and there are also 3 single rooms. Ward manager, Karen Gordon-Russell, leads a team of nursing staff trained in specialist palliative care. There is an integral day centre and availability of complementary therapies.
Dr Campbell does an outpatient clinic in the Macmillan Wolds unit with Macmillan nurse Sue Cook, seeing patients with cancer and also patients with multiple sclerosis and MND. He attends inpatients in the Macmillan Wolds unit where he works closely with the patient's own GP and also with other hospital consultants to ensure that patients get the best possible care and medical treatment.
This facility is open to the people of Bridlington, Driffield and the surrounding areas.
Hospice care in Whitby
A full range of hospice services is available in Whitby, including in-patient care, day hospice services, advice, counselling and education.
The Heather Unit
The Heather Unit on War Memorial Ward at Whitby Hospital provides hospice care for people living in and around Whitby and the Esk Valley area and their families.
Saint Catherine’s Hospice provides support through the provision of a lead nurse, Sister Sarah Locker, a hospice practitioner, Dr Julian Fester, a palliative consultant, Dr Sarah Callin. It also offers access to the hospice’s other services like bereavement counselling and social care.
Treatment is provided for any long-term, progressive and end of life illnesses.
These include cancer and also serious neurological diseases including multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease. We also care for people who have advanced heart, lung and liver disease.
The Heather Unit provides supportive palliative care from treatment, rehabilitation and discharge planning to symptom control and end of life care.
The unit operates open visiting times, seven days a week and also provides the opportunity for relatives to stay with patients by using our dedicated patient and visitor facility, the Lily Room.
To contact the Heather Unit at Whitby Hospital contact 01947 824277.
Click here for more details on the Heather Unit at Whitby Hospital (PDF)
Outpatient and Advisory Services
Dr Sarah Callin provides a weekly palliative outpatient clinic at the Healther Unit. This offers patients the opportunity to receive symptom control as well as other care, help and advice.
The palliative care team works closely with staff at Whitby Hospital, having input into the weekly care of the elderly ward round and forming an integral part of the multi-disciplinary team which meets at the hospital, picking up on any palliative care needs. Input can include symptom control, treatment of psychological issues, family support, staff support, complex discharge planning and advanced care planning.
Whitby Day Hospice
Whitby people benefit from their own day hospice facility at Mulgrave Crescent on the town’s West Cliff,the services is managed by Sister Shirley Schofield and her team. Shirley also works on the Heather Unit at Whitby Hospital.
The day hospice team can take up to eight day care patients a day plus additional out-patients between 9am and 4pm each Tuesday and Thursday and provide a range of care for people with advanced incurable diseases.
All of its services are designed to improve the quality of life of its patients and the day hospice team work very closely with all members of the healthcare and social care team ensuring patients get the best care possible.
The needs of patients attending can range from symptom control, medication review, monitoring of symptoms, to physiotherapy, occupational therapy and respite care.
To achieve these things it calls upon the services of doctors, a team of therapists, nursing staff and volunteers.
Saint Catherine’s hospice bereavement support and counselling service also run a service on a Monday and Wednesday at the Day Hospice.
Counselling
There is a free palliative counselling service where counselling can be offered at the Heather Unit, Whitby Day Hospice or the patient’s own home.
This valuable service provides help and support for people suffering psychological problems as a result of their condition. It can also be offered to a patient’s relative if their need is related to the condition of the patient.
Marie Byatt, an experienced palliative care counsellor, provides the service and it is an opportunity for patients to have their concerns and anxieties heard and addressed.
Click here for more information on palliative counselling (PDF)
Education
Saint Catherine’s is at the forefront of palliative care techniques and always looking to share information and to develop care provision.
Clinical Reflective Practice is delivered by the palliative care team to hospital staff to provide support and to develop effective care. It provides an opportunity to reflect on the palliative care that is being offered and to seek ways to improve.
Twice a year the hospice team host education evenings for professionals locally caring for palliative care patients. This can include GPs, nurses or occupational therapists, for example, whether working in the hospital or in the community. These evenings can look at many aspects of clinical palliative care.
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01723 351421
