When you arrive

You will be welcomed by one of the nursing staff who will talk with you about what you may like to do during your day with us and give you the opportunity to discuss any concerns you may have about your illness and/or the care you are receiving.  If you are not already a patient of the Hospice, your needs will be considered jointly with the nursing and medical staff.

What to bring

Please bring with you any medicines you take during the day as well as any extra medicines you may need, for example, for sickness or pain.  If you have forgotten these please inform a member of staff.

Transport

Patients who are able to provide their own transport are welcome to do so.  The Hospice will provide transport using our volunteer’s drivers for anyone who does not.  The only exemption would be on the grounds of safety, as we must comply with national legislation.

Visitors

It is not possible for your family/carers to accompany you to the day centre although they would be very welcome on your initial visit, in which case please let the staff know who will be accompanying you.

What we do

The day runs from 10am to 3pm.  Day care is aimed at helping patients to enjoy their time and enhance their feeling of well being by offering a variety of activities throughout the day.  The day is loosely structured to allow time for patients to talk or simply relax with staff and each other as well as participate in whatever activities are taking place.  The activities vary from day to day but generally there is arts and crafts, hairdressing, reflexology, massage, poetry and reminiscence therapy.

If you enjoy a particular hobby please mention it to the staff who will try to facilitate you doing it.

We will try and arrange for you to see your community nurse or social worker if you ask us.

Lunch, as well as coffee/tea and snacks, will be served.  The lunch menu offers a choice of main courses and there are always alternatives.  If you have particular dietary needs please let the staff know.  We aim to cater for all.

There is a Room of Quiet available for prayer and contemplation, which you may like to visit, and a member of our Multi-faith Chaplaincy team visits the Day Centre daily.  If you would like to meet with a particular chaplain please inform one of the staff and they will try to arrange it for you.

Some people find it helpful to meet together to talk about issues and concerns they may have.  Members of staff can organise this and if it would be of interest to you please let one of the staff know.

Smoking

Patients who wish to smoke may do so in the patients’ sitting room.

General

The Day Centre is very informal and relaxed and we are keen that patients get the most out of it.  With this in mind we have established age specific days for those patients aged between 50 and 65 years or those under 50 years.  Other days offer a mixed age group.  If you would prefer a different day please discuss it with the Day Centre Manager.

If your condition stabilises or it becomes apparent that regular day care is no longer appropriate we will discuss this with you and may consider discharging you.  We would, however, aim to ensure that all appropriate support services are in place prior to your discharge date.

Our aim would be to continue to change and adapt what we offer in Day care to your needs and we would build our service around this. Please feel free to make suggestions.