Palliative Care Services (Specialist)

Palliative care is the active total care of patients whose disease no longer responds to curative treatment. The Specialist Palliative Care team in CHFT provides advice and support to hospital in-patients and their families at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary (HRI) and Calderdale Royal Hospital (CRH). CHFT employed Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) based at Overgate Hospice in Elland support patients and their families in the community in Calderdale.

A similar team of CNSs is employed by Kirkwood Hospice to deliver community support for the residents of South and Central Kirklees under the Greater Huddersfield GP Clinical Commissioning Group. Support is also provided to all health care professionals involved in the patient’s care and the team also delivers a comprehensive education programme to nurses, doctors and allied health professionals. Hospital In-patients are seen within 2 working days and urgent referrals will be seen on the same day wherever possible. Community patients are contacted within 3 working days to arrange a mutually convenient time for a face-to-face assessment, if necessary.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria have been agreed across the Yorkshire and Humber Cancer Network. Eligibility for access to the service is based on patient need rather than diagnosis, so patients who meet the following criteria will be eligible for specialist palliative care: The patient has active, progressive and usually advanced disease for which the prognosis is limited (although it may be several years) and the focus of care is quality of life.

The patient has unresolved complex needs that cannot be met by the caring team. These needs may be physical, psychological, social and/or spiritual.  Examples may include complicated symptoms, difficult family situations, or ethical issues regarding treatment decisions. There are no specialist palliative care beds in the Trust and patients remain under the care of their GP or consultant. In-patient Specialist Palliative Care is provided by Kirkwood and Overgate Hospices.

Specialist Palliative Care Multi-disciplinary team meeting This occurs weekly at HRI to discuss complex patients across all settings known to the specialist palliative care team. The Lead clinician for the MDT meetings is Dr Stephen Oxberry. Clinical Review Meetings are also held each week to discuss all referrals made to the hospital and community specialist palliative care teams. 24 hour telephone service Kirkwood Hospice and Overgate Hospice both operate a 24 hour/365 days a year telephone advice service.  

The service provides specialist palliative care advice to patients and their carers and to nursing and medical staff from hospital and community settings, including care homes. Consultant palliative medical advice is provided for health care professionals through switchboards at CHFT and at Mid-Yorkshire hospitals by eight Consultants in Palliative Medicine who cover the areas of Calderdale, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Pontefract and Wakefield.

Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, main corridor, opposite the General Office.

CHFT Hospital SPCT: Marian Berry (Tel: 01484 342965)

Calderdale Community SPCT: Geraldine Peters (Tel:  01422 310874) Secretary to Dr Jeena Ackroyd and Calderdale Community Specialist Palliative Care Team. Kirkwood Hospice: Tricia Schofield (Tel: 01484 557906) Secretary to Dr Stephen Oxberry and the Kirklees Community Specialist Palliative Care Team Overgate Hospice: Bunty Rawson (Tel: 01422 379151) Clinical Administrator supporting Dr Rachel Sheils at Overgate Hospice.

The Specialist Palliative Care team at both the HRI and CRH sites comprises of 4 consultants in palliative medicine, clinical nurse specialists in palliative care, a medical social work team and medical secretaries.