At Home service

At Home

Our Hospice at Home Team offer specialist palliative care within the home, giving people a real choice about their preferred place of care at end of life.

The team is made up of Health Care Assistants who offer specialist palliative care in the homes of people based in Stafford or the surrounding areas.

To try and achieve the best possible outcomes for patients, we work alongside other healthcare professionals including district nurses and our Palliative Care Nurse Specialists.

How we can help

End of life care

End of life care gives support to those who wish to stay at home during the final stages of their illness (last 2–3 weeks of life).

We offer up to four calls a day to help with personal care and pressure area care.

The team also provide emotional support for patients and support carers and families.

Crisis support

Crisis support (or interim care) is for those people whose condition and circumstances suddenly changes and who find themselves in urgent need of care.

Crisis support is available for up to two weeks and can often prevent a crisis admission to hospital or other care settings. This enables family members, loved ones or other healthcare professionals to sort out and put in place, a long term package of care and support.

Respite for carers

Respite for carers is a sitting service offering two–three hourly sits during the day for patients, allowing cares and family members time to have a break or go out. Sits are offered once or twice weekly basis depending on availability.

Respite night sits

Our nine-hour overnight respite sits allow family members and carers to get some much needed rest while a member of our team sits with the patient.

Night sits can be requested but not be pre-booked and are subject to availability.

Discharge help

There are times when patients are ready to go home from hospital, hospice or other temporary care settings, but the care they need is not able to start immediately. Our team can help support the patient to go home sooner and provide care until a longer term care package is in place.

Tracey and Ken on their way to visit a patient in their home.

Referrals

Referrals are accepted from all registered healthcare professionals.

Make a referral.

Bill and Betty's story

Bill and Betty’s Story

For a long time, mum and dad had managed marvellously to do most things for themselves despite dad’s many debilitating ailments and them both being in their 80s. Dad’s Parkinson’s nurse felt mum would benefit from some respite and offered to contact Katharine House to see if there was a place for dad to attend as a day visitor. Both mum and dad were reluctant at first – for nearly 70 years they’ve done just about everything together so dad didn’t really want to leave mum at home and anyway, wasn’t this a place where people went when they were dying or, at least, very old and frail?

When he decided to give it a go, my sister took dad along for an assessment and for him to see the Centre and an initial 12 weeks of weekly day visits was offered. Dad thoroughly enjoyed the days, meeting other chaps, having a chat over a meal and even a glass of beer and participating in the activities offered. The Katharine House team were able to provide support from other services whilst dad was at the centre too and mum knew he was being well looked after.

The weekly visits continued until dad become more frail and could manage to attend fortnightly when he was well enough. Sadly, when the Covid pandemic hit all visits had to stop. Every week, without fail, a member of the KH team called mum to ask how things are, providing a warm and friendly voice; this at a time when few services have been available.

When it became clear that a personal care package was needed for dad, in order that mum could manage better, Embrace’s team of carers stepped in to provide crisis care whilst we waited for the package to begin.

As dad edged towards his end of life, we had several overnight sits from KH nurses which have given reassurance to mum, my sister, brother and me, enabling us all to relax more during the dark hours.

 

The staff who covered the night sits gave reassurance to mum and she was able to settle at night a little better knowing a professional was at hand. The team liaised with the district nurses and care company to ensure they were aware of any action which was needed.

We hope that our story shows how KH has been more than we could’ve wished for. Memories of dad telling us about his lovely lunches and mum’s order to us kids to make sure the biscuits are there for our night sitters will be reminisced for a good while.

Without public support this wonderful facility will struggle and we know that the Covid pandemic has caused a real financial crisis for this local charity which has made such a difference to our family.

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