Symptoms Services in South West Essex

The integrated care team deliver specialist care for palliative and end of life care at home, complex care at home e.g. chemotherapy management of Hickman/PICC lines and support to those who are housebound within their own home including residential homes.

The support group is a way to learn more about living with a lung condition and share your experiences and stories with others.

The British Lymphology Society provides a directory of Lymphoedema treatment services.

Use the website address above to find your local services.

Information and support about stoma care. There is a 24 hour helpline.

Crohns and Colitis UK provides information about and helps to find support from others in the Crohn’s and Colitis community.

The Hospice Rapid Access Service team is a 24 hour services for people with a primary health need, who are rapidly deteriorating, and likely to be entering the terminal/palliative care phase of their illness. 

Havens Hospices, St Lukes Hospice and Farleigh Hospice work together as a collaborative to ensure consistency of care across all of Mid and South Essex.

The Hospices will assess the care needs of the patient and source care that meets the holistic needs of the patient.  This could be care in the home, on an in-patient unit, or in a Nursing Home.

Havens Hospices – havenshospices.rapidaccess@nhs.net (Southend, Castle Point and Rochford)

Farleigh Hospice -  contactteam.fh@nhs.net (Chelmsford, Maldon and the Dengie, Braintree and the surrounding areas)

St Luke’s Hospice - Stlukes.oneresponse@nhs.net (Basildon and Thurrock)

Ileostomy and Internal Pouch Association, known as IA, has been specialising in supporting people living with an ileostomy.

IA has not only an extensive network of local groups across the UK and Ireland but also the majority of volunteers are living life after surgery.

Little Havens provides specialist care and support for babies, children and young people requiring specialist in-patient care for symptom management, respite and end of life care.

LymphConnect is an online platform developed to help manage lymphoedema or lipoedema, understand more about the condition, share experiences and get support and advice.

Complementary therapies can help control symptoms and help to deal with day-to-day life.

The therapies available are:

• Aromatherapy
• Massage
• Reflexology
• Mindfulness
• Reiki

For patients requiring specialist in-patient care for symptom management and end of life care.

The patient therapies team help with a range of symptoms through groups and individual sessions to help managing pain and symptoms.

The team consistes of:

• Physiotheraphy
• Occupational therapy
• Complementary therapy

The St Francis Hospice's referral hub can be accessed by those facing a life limiting condition. 

Please refer a patient or making a self-referral to access hospice services.

The team are clinical specialists that are experts in pain and symptom control.

Urgent advice ia available 24 hours, 365 days a year.

St Luke's Hospice Clinical Outpatients team offers convenient, accessible and specialist key clinical procedures and palliative care, in a relaxed environment with appointments to meet your wellbeing and lifestyle needs. 

Key clinical procedures offered to outpatients:

• Advance Care Planning clinics
• Ascetic and Pleural drainage
• Blood product transfusions
• Clinical Nurse Specialist symptom management clinic
• CVC line care
• Intravenous fluids
• IV Bisphosphonates infusions
• IV Iron Infusions
• Long term condition clinic – supporting heart failure, renal and liver conditions
• Venepuncture

The service opening hours are 9.00am to 5.00pm.

St Luke's Hospice provide specialist in-patient care for symptom management and end of life care.        

There are a total of 7 beds and 1 emergency bed in Basildon.

Hospice Rapid Access Service (HRAS) with 6 Beds in Thurrock.

St Luke's Hospice Physiotherapy team can help when living with a life limiting illness.  Specialist Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists will listen and assess to support independence and aid mobility to manage symptoms and positively impact quality of life and wellbeing.

Family and loved ones are also supported in their caring roles. Advice, guidance and techniques on how to safely move and handle someone when caring for them can be accessed through conversation with the Physiotherapy team.

The offer includes:

• individual assessments to help provide appropriate equipment, e.g. mobility aids
• personalised treatment plans including non-drug pain relief treatments and exercises to improve mobility, independence and balance
• treatments to assist with shortness of breath, fatigue or insomnia
• group exercise classes and confidence building

Rehabilitative care is also provided by our Occupational Therapy team. 

St Luke's Hospice provides the specialist Lymphoedema care team could provide care to you if you are living with primary Lymphoedema, secondary Lymphoedema and Lipoedema. The team can provide clinical expertise, support and practical help for those with any these conditions and live across South Essex.

This service is for any persons over the age of 18 and supports the management of complex wound care, via clinic based appointments, or homevisits depending on the need of the service user.