24/7 Telephone Advice Line - 01782 344300

Being faced with a terminal diagnosis is a frightening time – many people struggle to come to terms with the information being given.  Friends and relatives are often desperate to help but can’t find the right words and lack the knowledge to assist.  As the news sinks in a patient will need to get to grips with the treatment they will now receive as a non-curative patient.

Specialised palliative care is a diverse field of medicine and practitioners need to be knowledgeable about a vast range of conditions and symptoms. The Palliative Care Nurse Specialists at the Dougie Mac have between them years of experience not just in the field but also across range of life-limiting conditions.

Following a terminal diagnosis a patient may feel bewildered and unsure.  Carers and patients may have problems with medications, struggling with pain or perhaps their relationships.  Management of their condition may have reached crisis point and these things rarely happen in office hours.

 
The launch of the 24/7 advice line acknowledges this and can provide advice and solutions to those in need at any time of the day or night.  The service has been so well used since its introduction that it has been extended and it is hoped it will become a permanent service, funding permitting. 

Michelle Roberts, Chief Executive at the hospice says: "We wish to improve care for patients at the end of their lives, help them to avoid unnecessary trips to A&E and improve advice so they can be cared for better in their own homes."

The advice number was launched primarily for healthcare professionals to access to provide them with additional advice and support to help them look after patients who wish to stay at home. However the hospice is happy to take calls from the general public such as carers looking after patients in the palliative phase of life or even the patients themselves. 

Michelle continued "I believe we are one of the first hospices in the country to be running a service as comprehensive as this."

The advice line, which is staffed by a Palliative Care Nurse Specialist’s, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week can be accessed by calling 01782 344300.