Assessing needs
Once you have made a referral to Pilgrims services one of our team – usually a Doctor or Advanced Nurse Practitioner – will talk to the person about how their illness is affecting them and their family. We will talk to you as well, and referring to your notes and recommendations, we will look at what support Pilgrims can provide.
At Pilgrims we will work with you to give a responsive, flexible service to meet each patient's needs. If your patient has a terminal or life limiting illness and is expected to die within a year we can work with you to determine the best plan of care for that individual.
You may just want to discuss the patient's situation to check if we can add any further value or support, or you may wish us to admit your patient for evaluation or treatment recommendation. We can also support you with Advance Care Planning discussions.
Assessments in care settings across east Kent
Assessments can be made in one of our clinics, which take place on our three sites and through our outreach centres. They can also be organised to take place on the ward or in someone’s own home, or the hospital ward or care home they are staying in.
Holistic care for each patient
Our services are all holistic, so we look at each person’s physical symptoms and at their psychological and emotional symptoms.
Pilgrims whole multidisciplinary team of nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, chaplains, consultants and doctors will work together to offer an individual package for that person that gives them care and comfort along their whole care pathway.
Experts in symptom management
In each assessment we will look at the person’s symptoms and what the underlying causes for those symptoms are, along with their individual needs.
We will then work with you to prescribe a course of treatment that helps with their comfort. This may mean offering access to a range of our services, such as our Therapy Centres Wellbeing and Social Programme, a short stay on one of our wards, access to our outreach services or End of Life care on a Pilgrims ward or in someone’s own home. Once you have made a referral to our services, the support and programmes on offer are flexible throughout the last year of the person’s life to allow the right support when it’s needed most.
We encourage early referrals
If you are in any doubt as to whether Pilgrims Hospices services could benefit your patient, please give us a call. The earlier we are engaged in the patient's care package the more we can do to support. You can use our 24 hour professionals advice line on 01233 504 133, or contact our local teams direct in Canterbury, Ashford and Thanet.