The care we provide

The aim of our 31-bed Inpatient Ward is to provide high quality care to patients, their families and friends, addressing physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs. The focus of this care is to enhance quality of life.

The team of doctors, nurses and other Hospice staff promotes dignity and individual choice and strives to improve the patient’s care experience.

COVID-19 update

The Inpatient Ward (31 beds) continues to offer support to patients with complex symptoms and at end of life. Unfortunately visiting has currently been restricted. For the latest information please visit the specific COVID-19 information page on the LOROS website.

A skilled and experienced team of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and therapy assistants, work collaboratively as a multi-disciplinary team to enable patients to progress towards their personalised goals. The aim is to support them in fulfilling their potential for maximum independence and functioning in daily life, and helping them to achieve their goals as appropriate. This often includes working with patients and their families.

Occupational therapists and physiotherapists work together to provide ways of maximising a patient’s independence and helping them to get home if appropriate.

With the other multi-disciplinary professional team surrounding the person and those important to them, the social worker ensures that services and interventions take account of the whole person as well as their family, whatever that means for them.

Specialist palliative care social workers can offer a wide variety of support to both the person and carers. This can include sourcing practical help at home, accessing other services, advice around debt or income maintenance, help with housing and advocacy.

We undertake work around helping people to prepare for the end of their lives. We provide advice about bereavement support organisations for people who need more specialist support.

A specialist confidential counselling service is available for patients and their families who are anticipating grief and who are terminally ill and bereaved. Counselling gives people the opportunity to talk through their experience with trained counsellors who enable patients and families to make more sense of their feelings. A bereavement support service is also available in the Hospice and in the community.

COVID-19 update

The Counselling team continue to provide telephone and digital/video counselling sessions for clients external to the Hospice. Support for patients on the Inpatient Ward has been maintained as required. The Children and Young People’s Counsellor is offering a small number of face-to-face sessions at the Hospice, where necessary. The team have commenced online bereavement support and are working with community hubs to support the training of further bereavement volunteers across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

The team is available to support patients, their families and friends, staff and volunteers. The purpose of the team is to meet the spiritual and religious needs of individuals of any or no faith.

COVID-19 update

The onsite chaplaincy support continues at the Hospice for patients on the Inpatient Ward.

Our highly trained Compassionate Neighbours volunteers provide companionship, practical and emotional support to patients in their homes for up to four hours per week. Our volunteer visitors allow relatives and carers to leave home with peace of mind or to have time to themselves. The service is tailored to meet patients’ needs and the needs of their relative or carer. Our volunteers will adapt themselves according to how patients are feeling on the day. This service does not offer personal care.

LOROS Day Therapy is a nurse-led service at the Hospice running Monday to Friday. There are three programmes of care available depending on the individual's needs. This will be assessed by a Day Therapy nurse following a patient’s referral.

COVID-19 update

Day Therapy continues to offer fortnightly supportive phone calls to patients when they are not attending sessions.

LOROS is running a café-style Wellbeing Hub for people with a progressive life-limiting condition on the first and third Monday of each month, from 10am-3pm.

Based in Day Therapy, the Wellbeing Hub is led by volunteers. As well as creative sessions, with painting, drawing and other arts, the hub offers wellbeing with relaxation and tai chi. In the coming months, it is hoped there will be live music and other plans include a book swap.

The Hub has a café where sandwiches, cakes, snacks and drinks can be purchased.

There’s no need to book, and you don’t need a referral from a healthcare professional, you can just come along. Carers are welcome too.

Our new Wellbeing Hub will open its doors on Monday 4th July, 10am-3pm.

The LOROS CNS Team work alongside nurses from Leicestershire Partnership Trust to provide specialist palliative care and advice to patients and families in their own homes.  This Team is called the Integrated Community Specialist Palliative Care Team (ICSPCT)

The care is achieved through direct patient contact and liaising with other health and social care providers. The CNS’s are based in Community Nursing Hubs alongside the wider community teams across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

ICSPCT is supported by 2 LOROS Community Consultants, available daily to advise the nurses, provide home visits if required and  liaise with other Health Professionals as appropriate.

COVID-19 update

The CNS team continue to provide a service by visiting patients in their own homes. This is assessed on an individual basis and PPE are worn at all times. If possible telephone and digital/video consultations are offered to patients instead of a home visit.

The CNS team are working with the wider primary care team to ensure a high standard of care and support continues to be provided in the community without jeopardising any patient safety.

The nurse-led lymphoedema service provides specialist care for patients with lymphoedema caused by cancer or its treatments.

Lymphoedema is a build up of tissue fluid that causes swelling in any part of the body. It Occurs when the fluid drainage system in parts of your body is not working very well. The drainage system is known as the lymphatic system.

Lymphoedema can be due to cancer causing changes in the lymphatic system. Cancer treatments, such as surgery or radiotherapy to lymph nodes, can also be the cause of lymphoedema.

Lymphoedema is a long-term (chronic) condition. It can not be cured, but it can usually be well controlled.

The aim of the service:

• to offer specialist knowledge and advice on lymphoedema management to the patient, their carers and to health professionals

• to provide a clear understanding of the causes of lymphoedema

• to advise on the management of lymphoedema

• to work with the patient to plan their individual care

• to enable the patient, with support, to control their lymphoedema

COVID-19 update

The nurse-led service continues to support patients in our outpatient clinic and within the Hospice, providing specialised lymphoedema management.

The team offer telephone, digital/video and face to face appointments as appropriate.

The service continues to provide telephone advice to patients and healthcare professionals.

A range of complementary therapies are offered to patients and relatives primarily to enhance well-being and quality of life, this is provided both in the Hospice and in the community.

COVID-19 update

The Complementary Therapy team continue to provide a limited service to patients on the Inpatient Ward and are also supporting staff in the Hospice with their personal wellbeing.

LOROS provides a medical Outpatients service at the Hospice and in the community. Patients will be seen by a palliative care doctor following a referral from a healthcare professional such as a GP. Some patients who are too unwell can be seen at home.

LOROS has a Young Person and Transition Key Worker to support patients and relatives aged 18-30 while accessing our services and to make the transition to LOROS from children’s services as smooth as possible.  This includes identifying individual needs, ensuring that age appropriate services are available, signposting to other organisations if required and providing a main point of contact for young people and their families.

We also offer a volunteer telephone befriending service. Volunteers can provide a weekly telephone call to patients and their family carers, to offer a listening ear and emotional support. The same volunteer will call each week, at a mutually convenient time, offering ongoing support and continuity.