Community Health Services

Macmillan Specialist Palliative Care Nurses

Information for patients, their families and carers The service is available Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm excluding bank holidays.

Your Macmillan nurse is:

Contact number

www.leicspart.nhs.uk

Email: [email protected]

This leaflet is intended to help you understand more about the Macmillan Specialist Palliative Care nursing service, who are part of the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) integrated community health services who work closely with all the services. There is a range of services available, each offering support specific to your needs. If there is anything you are unclear about, please ask your nurse.

What is palliative care? Palliative care describes the physical, psychological and social care and support given to people who have an illness or disease that cannot be cured.

Who provides palliative care in the community? Your GP, community nurse team or other members of the LPT team will care for you during your illness, including arranging any support from other health and social care agencies that you might need. The main aim is to provide a holistic assessment (assessing the whole person) of what support you may need, both physical and emotional from all services, to include advice on your symptoms and practical nursing care. Sometimes you may require more specialist help during your illness.

What is specialist palliative care? Macmillan nurses are specially trained to deliver palliative care for complex symptoms. They share their specialist knowledge and skills and act as a resource to the community teams, including GPs and other services.

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Reasons for referral to the team may include: • the assessment and management of any complex symptoms you may have • to help and support you with any complex emotional, psychological and spiritual issues • to give you information about your treatment and any care that you may need.

Who we are We are a small team of specialist nurses with extensive skills in palliative care. We work closely in partnership with other health professionals as part of the co-ordinated community health care service within Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Regular visits from the Macmillan palliative care team may not be needed when your symptoms have been resolved. You will be discharged back into the care of your GP or a key worker who can support you. During your illness, you may meet different types of professionals, one of whom may become your key worker. This could include: • Community nursing team - for example the district nurse who is part of your local community nursing service that provide general nursing care and support you with palliative care in your home setting. • The Hospice at Home service - a team of trained nurses, assistant practitioners and healthcare assistants. The Hospice at Home team provide specialised nursing care and a rapid response service to patients in their own homes to support people at home in their last days of life. The service is provided seven days a week between the hours of 7am and 10pm across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

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your GP

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hospital consultant and team

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physiotherapist/ occupational therapist

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dietician

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social services

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voluntary services.

You may also meet some of the following teams: •

Marie Curie nurses - they are funded by the cancer charity and can be requested by your community nurse if they feel this is appropriate. They can stay in your home for several hours, including overnight (10pm - 7am) if needed.

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Disease specific Macmillan nurses - these nurses have specific expertise in a particular illness, for example, lung cancer or breast cancer. They are all based in a hospital.

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Community matrons - these are a team of highly skilled nurses who co-ordinate care and services for people with complex needs due to long term conditions such as respiratory disease, heart disease and diabetes.

Should you ever need any further advice you can contact your Macmillan nurse on the number given on the front of this leaflet. We have close links with LOROS hospice, which provides free care and support to terminally ill patients and their families in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Services at the hospice include: •

A team of community nurse specialists (CNS) in palliative care. In the same way as the Macmillan specialist palliative care nurses, they work closely with GPs to provide specialist advice and support to patients and families. Every GP practice

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has a dedicated CNS in palliative care. The website for LOROS is www.loros.co.uk. •

Inpatient unit.

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Day therapy service.

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Outpatients clinics.

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Lymphoedema service.

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Palliative care doctor domicilliary visits.

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Access to domiciliary visits.

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24 hour advice line for professionals, patients and carers 0116 231 8415.

Other useful contacts District nursing service Via Single Point of Access Tel: 0300 300 7777 Coping with cancer A local voluntary organisation that offers support, counselling, befrienders and complimentary therapies Tel: 0116 223 0055 Patient information centre (Osborne building, Leicester Royal Infirmary) A range of information on all aspects of cancer Tel: 0116 258 6189 Macmillan advice and support Advice and support on finances and benefits Tel: 0300 4568 400 Department for Work and Pensions Personal independence payment Tel: 0800 917 2222. Attendance allowance Tel: 0845 712 3456 Age UK (Leicester branch) Tel: 0116 299 2233

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Improving services We are looking at ways to improve our service, so would welcome any comments, compliments or complaints. Please speak to any member of the team or contact 01509 410 274. At some point during your care, you may receive a questionnaire about the service. We would appreciate it if you would take the time to complete this.

Notes

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If you need this information in another language or format please telephone 0116 295 0994 or email: [email protected] Arabic 0116 295 0994

Bengali 0116 295 0994

Traditional Chinese 0116 295 0994

Gujarati 0116 295 0994

Hindi 0116 295 0994

Polish 0116 295 0994

Punjabi 0116 295 0994

Somali 0116 295 0994

Urdu 0116 295 0994

Date implemented: July 2014 Date implemented: September 2011

Review date: July 2016 Review date: September 2013

Leaflet No. 317 Leaflet No. 118 - Edition 1