Getting a Relative Admitted to a Hospice

Person_one

Mrs_pbradley936 wrote: »

Then we must agree to disagree - I am on the fund raising committee for a Hospice and I would walk away if the NHS became involved.

The NHS will be 'involved' even if it doesn't run the hospice. They work very closely with local trusts and services, or they should be.

As Torry says, they are not just places you go to die.

Mrs_pbradley936

Person_one wrote: »

The NHS will be 'involved' even if it doesn't run the hospice. They work very closely with local trusts and services, or they should be.

As Torry says, they are not just places you go to die.

They will be involved as far as any drugs given will be supplied by them. Any GP will usually be an NHS GP but the staff such as nurses, cleaners, gardeners and cooks, people that greet relatives and do the admin will not be paid for by the NHS. Neither will they own the building.

Incidentally many doing the gardening will be volunteers. The WI used to volunteer to make light refreshments in our local hospital but their space is now rented to Costa and you cannot get a cup of coffee and a biscuit for 25p from them.

Torry_Quine

Mrs_pbradley936 wrote: »

Then we must agree to disagree - I am on the fund raising committee for a Hospice and I would walk away if the NHS became involved.

I'm not sure where the antagonism comes from. I would think that the staff of a hopsice whether NHS or private/charity will all be of a high standard and care for their patients. It seems wrong to me that such a vital service is subect to the vagaries of fundraising and should be funded from the NHS.

Person_one wrote: »

The NHS will be 'involved' even if it doesn't run the hospice. They work very closely with local trusts and services, or they should be.

As Torry says, they are not just places you go to die.

Totally correct. I am puzzled by Mrs pbradley's comments.

Person_one

Mrs_pbradley936 wrote: »

They will be involved as far as any drugs given will be supplied by them. Any GP will usually be an NHS GP but the staff such as nurses, cleaners, gardeners and cooks, people that greet relatives and do the admin will not be paid for by the NHS. Neither will they own the building.

Incidentally many doing the gardening will be volunteers. The WI used to volunteer to make light refreshments in our local hospital but their space is now rented to Costa and you cannot get a cup of coffee and a biscuit for 25p from them.

The hospice teams will/should work closely with GPs, district nurses, palliative care teams and other NHS services in the area they serve. They will also have close links with hospitals nearby. NHS and hospice based staff, along with others such as Macmillan and Marie Curie are all part of the same MDT often caring for the same people.

The NHS might not own the building or pay the staff, but they are most definitely 'involved', I certainly hope that doesn't cause you to walk away from fundraising though.

Gigervamp

Mrs pbradley, it's obvious that your experience of hospices is different from others.

My local hospice (who I'm registered with for palliative care, outside of my hospital oncology care) is in a wing of the local hospital.

They do more than just basic hospice/palliative care. I was asked if I wanted to go along on a 12 week craft course.

My FIL died there a few years ago and although the staff were lovely, I've told my husband I don't want to die there, but at home. It was far too much like a hospital to me, although FIL had his own en-suite room, the thought of dying there really scares me.

Armchair23

This isn't the time or place to have an argument or discussion about NHS and hospices.
I can pretty much say for certain this won't be helping the OP so lets leave that alone.

Gingervamp I'm pleased to hear you're getting the help you need.
Lets hope the OP is finding a way that works for her Dad to get the care he needs.

scooby088

I have to disagree with some comments about hospice care, my mother in total spent two weeks in our local hospice as respite for the family and for my mother wanting to have time away from us as well.

Plus the hospice my mother was under used to come and get her once a week to socialise with new people and did occupational therapy, they even gave her a special quilt that made her more comfortable in bed. Also after my mother passed away they provide bereavement counselling to our family and stayed in contact with us for about 6 months after. My experience of the hospice was one of caring and compassion from everyone that worked there.

angel_eyes_3

In reply to the OP's question about how to get their father referred for hospice admission whilst still an inpatient in hospital. Whilst individual medical teams can and do refer patients for admission, it is more common for referrals to be made via the hospital palliative care team. You mentioned that you thought your father may be approaching end of life but that the plan was that he would have weeks in a smaller hospital with a longer term plan being put into place. End of life care means different timespans to different professionals; to a GP it can mean being in the last year of life whilst in a hospice it refers to the last few days. Depending on your father's wishes, it may be worth speaking to either his medical team or the palliative care team, and asking about time to ensure your father is going to the most appropriate place for him.

Hospices are no longer long stay units and shorter stays of 1-2 weeks are more usual. It is more common for people admitted for end of life care to be within the last few days of life, longer admissions tend to be for symptom management. All of this is very general information, every hospice and individual patient is different. Echoing what has already been said, it is always worth knowing what is available. Ringing your local hospice and asking what their admissions criteria and referral procedure is would be worth doing. You can also ask if it's possible to look round.