Choosing the right service for your patient
Below is a breakdown of our services to help you to choose which would be most suitable for your referral:
Patients may be admitted to help control difficult symptoms, for example pain, sickness or feeling very anxious or overwhelmed.
Patients may also be admitted to the Ward to be cared for in the last days or weeks of life, often because they have chosen that or because it has not been possible to be looked after at home.
Around half of patients who come to the Ward are discharged home.
Medical
Patients who need support with difficult symptoms or perhaps planning ahead can come to medical clinics where they will see a consultant or specialist registrar.
There are some specialist clinics for people with motor neurone disease, other neurological disorders and for help with breathlessness.
For patients who are too unwell to come to clinic, we do offer some home visits from a LOROS doctor.
There is a weekly clinic with a pain specialist consultant if a nerve block or other procedure is being considered.
Complementary therapy
LOROS is also able to offer patients complementary therapy (massage, aromatherapy, reflexology and relaxation techniques).
Lymphoedema service
Patients are able to access a nurse-led Lymphoedema service.
For advice on managing non-cancer related lymphoedema patients Health Care Professionals can speak to a Lymphoedema Nurse Specialist. The Lymphoedema Nurse can be contacted between 9am -4:30pm Monday – Friday (expect on Bank Holidays) on (0116) 231 8429
or
Please refer to the following links;
Lymphoedema Support Network (LSN)
Living with breathlessness outpatient clinic
The clinic offers support to patients troubled by chronic refractory breathlessness (breathlessness that persists despite best medical management of the underlying condition).
Members of the hospice multi-disciplinary team will support individual patients to develop predominantly non-pharmacological strategies aimed at reducing the impact of living with chronic breathlessness on day to day life.
Referral criteria
Patients should have an identifiable condition for which the medical management has been optimised but despite this chronic refractory breathlessness remains troubling and impacts significantly on daily function.
Patients with rapidly escalating and debilitating breathlessness related to a primary diagnosis of Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) or malignancy remain the priority group.
For other cohorts a clear rationale for referral should be identified regarding what additional avenues/support can be offered by the LOROS multi-disciplinary team, above and beyond the considerable expertise of the long-term conditions teams who offer specialist community support and the gold standard of pulmonary rehabilitation.
Patients and carers have been made aware by the referrer that the LOROS Living with Breathlessness clinic offers self-management strategies, rather than disease modifying treatments, to enable them to live with and manage their breathlessness.
Patients referred are open to participation in a self-management programme and adapting their current approach based on clinician recommendations.
The Clinical Nurse Specialist service provide specialist care and advice to patients and families in their own homes. This is achieved through direct patient contact and liaising with other health and social care providers.
LOROS Day Therapy offers fortnightly sessions for patients who require ongoing symptom management. This may include pain, breathlessness, fatigue and offering some emotional support.
Our regular wellbeing service offers support for terminally ill patients and their carers. Patients do not need to be known to LOROS. No clinical support is available and patients need to be self-caring or accompanied by a relative.
Our Counselling service will take referrals for people who are terminally ill, carers and families who have anticipatory grief or are in bereavement. LOROS offers counselling to children and young people who are known to LOROS services.
Compassionate Neighbours
Our Compassionate Neighbours service offers practical and emotional support at home for socially isolated patients and respite for family carers to have time to themselves. Volunteers are able to provide up to four hours support per week or fortnightly to patients at home.
Telephone Befriending Service
Over the phone emotional support is also available for patients and carers.
How to refer a patient
LOROS accepts referrals for patients aged 18 years and over who live in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, who have a progressive terminal condition and are in need of specialist palliative care.
Referrals are accepted from GPs, hospital consultants and community teams with the exception of the Day Therapy drop-in service. Our Complementary Therapy team receives referrals only from LPT palliative nurse specialists. Referrals to the Compassionate Neighbours service can be made by any health and social care professional.
For those hospital inpatients whose symptoms are well controlled, or whose discharge plans are in place, a LOROS admission may not be appropriate, even if it is a patient's preference.
Referrals may be made electronically (via PRISM or SystmOne) or using the Single Referral form below (UHL and Rainbows Hospice referrals only). Where possible please send the Single Referral form electronically, via Secure NHS or UHL email, to the relevant LOROS Team(s). For all ward referrals please call (0116) 231 3771.
When referring to the Integrated Community Specialist Palliative Care Service.
Please clearly identify the specific reasons for referral.
It is very useful to share relevant clinical information as you refer the patient – for example recent hospital letters, a share with consent on SystmOne, oncology annotations.
All referrals must have the consent of the patient
We accept referrals for patients with complex symptoms that are not improving despite treatment. Symptoms may be a combination of physical, such as pain or nausea, and/or psychological/spiritual. Most patients stay less than two weeks before discharge, by which time symptoms are usually under control.
To discuss an admission please call (0116) 231 3771 and ask to be put through to the ward registrar.
