St Luke’s at Home

Care and support

St Luke’s at Home

St Luke’s vision is for all people living with a life limiting illness in our community to have access to the care and support they need, whenever and wherever they need it. The St Luke’s at Home service will complement and support other community care services with the aim of:

  • helping reduce emergency hospital admissions
  • helping more people to live independently for as long as possible
  • enabling carers to be more resilient so they can look after loved ones at home for as long as possible
  • providing emotional support and care for patients and their families
Weekend Palliative Care Service

Palliative care advice when you need it

Support at weekends is just a phone call away for palliative patients and their carers thanks to our new weekend service.

We know how worrying and isolating it can feel to care for a loved one at home, especially when services typically only run Monday to Friday. To bridge this gap, we have introduced a new weekend palliative care service as part of our overall ‘St Luke’s at Home’ initiative.

Senior Nurse Debbie Collins, who has been running the service since its launch, said: “We’ve had some lovely feedback, it really has been a lifeline for patients and their families in the community who can feel very alone at weekends and unsure of where they can access help and support.

“Often they want to discuss symptoms or certain aspects of care that they are struggling with. Their loved one might be in more pain and they need advice and simply can’t wait until Monday. I can’t prescribe medication but I can seek guidance from the Hospice’s on-call medical team, if required, or speak with the GP out-of-hours service on the patient’s behalf. I can also go out and see the patient at home to provide extra support to both them and their family, or provide hands on care if that’s needed.

“We’ve also had good feedback from District Nurses who are able to liaise with us and get palliative care advice when they need it.”

The Weekend Palliative Care Service is available every Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm and can be contacted by calling 01606 555 489.

Complementary Therapies at Home

Therapies provided in patients’ own homes

We’re pleased to offer a Complementary Therapies Service for patients in their own homes, who are too unwell to attend the Hospice, as part of a joint venture between the NHS Community Palliative Care Team (CCICP), Mid Cheshire Hospitals Charity and St Luke’s. 

The service is provided by two highly experienced complementary therapists from the Hospice. Patients will be referred by other teams within St Luke’s or by the Community Palliative Care Team.

Therapies provided include Reflexology, Reiki and HEARTS – a form of therapeutic touch. These therapies can help relieve pain and symptoms, relieve anxiety and low mood, promote calmness and assist with sleep problems.

For more information please speak to your Community Palliative Care Team or contact the Hospice on 01606 555 681.