The Hospice of the Valleys Living Well service is an outpatient based service focusing on ‘what matters most to you’.
We recognise that you may be facing difficult circumstances and symptoms that are hard to control but more than that, our team acknowledges that this can have a significant impact on you living the life that you want to. Our priority is to help you to live your life well, even if your life may be shorter than you had hoped. We will help you to set goals around what matters most to you.
WHO CAN ACCESS LIVING WELL?
Living Well is available for those living in Blaenau Gwent, who have been diagnosed with a life limiting condition and are over 18. We also consider the referrals of those who have a potential life limiting condition, but are in a period of uncertainty.
We have services available for carers of those with life limiting conditions.
Often needs can be met by primary care services and your specialist team, but if not then we may be able to support you.
You will be expected to attend your appointments at the Hospice, or at a community location depending on the session.
HOW TO ACCESS OUR SERVICES?
A referral needs to be made to us at the Hospice. Ideally this is done in writing by a professional, this helps us to make sure we have the most relevant and up to date information about you and your condition. If you are unable to get a professional referral we can accept a self-referral over the phone, we will need additional time to process this, to make sure we have the correct medical information.
HOW DOES LIVING WELL WORK?
Assessment
One of our senior Living Well team members will invite you in for an assessment. Depending on why you are accessing the service, this may be done by a social worker, a nurse or a physio. The team all use the same assessment and will ask a variety of questions to really get to the bottom of how your condition is affecting your quality of life. We will also ask you about how your condition is affecting those who are important to you, as we have a variety of services that they can access to. We may refer to those who are most important to you as ‘carers’ but we don’t just mean those who provide physical care for you.
We will use this assessment as an opportunity to help you set goals around which your period of care will be focused. During your period of care specific interventions will be put in place.
Period of Care
A period of care and support could include:
- Help with managing symptoms
- Advance care planning
- Rehabilitation and wellbeing support
- Social and welfare support
- Psychological, emotional and spiritual support.
We offer a variety of services that are aimed to help you achieve your goals, with the support of our staff:
- nursing and medical support
- social work and emotional support
- welfare advice
- complementary therapies
- art and music therapies
- physiotherapy
- breathlessness and fatigue management
- wellbeing groups
- carers drop in
- community based drop in sessions
Discharge
We will regularly consider and review your goals as you access our services, and these are discussed with the Living Well Team in our weekly meetings. When our service users are stable and have completed their planned interventions they will be discharged from our services. If we recognise that a person’s needs may be better met by one of our other Hospice teams, we can arrange for a transfer.
Patients, carers and professionals can all re-activate a new period of care by contacting the team on 01495 717277 with updated information on the patient’s needs.
MEET THE TEAM:
Alice Dawson Living Well Team Lead and Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist
Jill Bowen Family Support Team Lead and Senior Social Worker
Jayne Smith Clinical Nurse Specialist
Kim Jones Clinical Nurse Specialist
Matthew Atkins Complementary Therapist
Gemma Pontin Welfare Rights Advisor
Sarah Bennett Welfare Rights Advisor
Louise Westgarth Music Therapist (sessional)
