Medical Outpatient Clinics

OUTPATIENT CLINICS

Many of our patients access our care through the medical outpatient clinics held in the hospice’s Woodview Centre.

They offer assessment or review for patients with complex or rapidly changing symptoms who need specialist medical assessment. Patients may also be seen in clinics for follow-up appointments after discharge from the inpatient unit.

Patients attending our outpatient clinics must be referred by their GP, hospital consultant, specialist nurse or district nurse, or may already be accessing other hospice services. We don't accept self-referrals and aren't able to accept 'drop-in' patients. Patients may be seen alongside their Hospice Nurse Specialist.

The time to help understand your needs

We try to provide those attending our outpatient clinic with as much time as we can; for new patients, this means a one-hour appointment. This gives us plenty of time to make the patient comfortable, talk to him or her in depth and undertake a thorough assessment of needs. We take this time because we want to look at each person's 'whole' needs, not just medical, but also emotional, social and spiritual. This meeting is typically with a senior doctor. For subsequent visits, we provide a 30-60 minute sessions - still plenty of time for a relaxed, in-depth assessment of progress.

Duration of care

Where a patient doesn't require ongoing review, perhaps because their symptoms are stable, we may discharge him or her back into the care of their GP. However, we're always ready to see people again when the need arises - by referral from their GP, hospital consultant, specialist nurse or district nurse.