Eligibility Criteria

Kirkwood Hospice provides a specialist palliative care service, as defined by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, 2004 for the people of Kirklees.

Kirklees is defined as the geographical area served by the Kirklees Primary Care Trust (PCT).

Eligibility Criteria for Specialist Palliative Care (SPC) Services

  • Common eligibility criteria were agreed in the year 2000 by all providers of specialist palliative care (SPC) working in Calderdale & Kirklees in order to ensure equity of access.
  • These criteria reflect those adopted by other SPC services across the Yorkshire Cancer Network.
  • There are two elements to the common eligibility criteria:-
  • Patients should have active, progressive and potentially life-threatening illness
  • Patients should have unresolved, complex  needs that cannot be met by the current caring team, or it is anticipated that the patient will develop such needs in the near future.  These needs may be psychological, social, spiritual or physical.

Who can refer for Hospice Services?

Referrals may be made by:-

  • Primary Health Care Team members.
  • Other SPC teams.
  • Hospital consultants, hospital nurses or Clinical Nurse Specialists, e.g. cancer site specific Nurse Specialists.
  • Any health or social care professional involved in the patient’s care.
  • The patient, a relative or friend.

Before any contact or visit is made to the patient the agreement of their General Practitioner (GP) or Hospital Consultant will be obtained either by their signature on the referral form, or by telephone.

Referral procedures for Home Support, Admission and Support & Therapy Centre

  • Referrals may be made by telephone, fax or post.
  • Referrers making verbal referrals will be asked for sufficient information to complete a referral form.
  • All referrers should supply as much information as possible with particular emphasis upon the patient’s identified SPC needs and the level of support required, for example:
  1. a one-off visit to provide advice to the usual caring team.  This may be carried out jointly with the referrer.
  2. assessment and support in the community for symptom control, psychological, social and spiritual assessment or terminal care.
  3. admission for ongoing symptom control, psychological, social and spiritual assessment or terminal care.
  4. assessment for day therapy services
  5. assessment for complementary therapies.
  • All referrals will be entered upon receipt on to a computerised database (HCAS) for clinical and statistical purposes.
  • Where referral forms contain insufficient information or lack clarity the referrer will be contacted for further information before any contact is made with the patient.
  • In cases where the referrer is requesting admission the patient should be known to and have been recently assessed by a member of a SPC team.
  • Requests for urgent admissions out-of-hours will be dealt with according to the out of hours admissions policy.

Referrals For Support & Therapy Service

  • The eligibility criteria described above apply to referrals to the Support & Therapy Service.
  • New referrals not known to a Kirklees SPC team will be contacted and assessed at home or invited to attend the department for assessment if they are able to do so within 5 working days.  The assessment will be made using the common, first assessment documentation.   In all cases a moving and handling assessment will be carried out and access to the house will be assessed to ensure that safe transfer of the patient is possible.
  • Hospice transport will be provided if the patient has no other means of transport available to them.
  • Patients with SPC needs which may be met by attendance at Support & Therapy Centre will be offered a mutually convenient start date with attendances continuing for a period of 12 weeks.  The referrer and GP will be informed of the start and review dates in writing.   In order to inform the review at week 12 a plan of care will be agreed between the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) and the patient.  Weekly evaluation will take place by the MDT and the patient.
  • Patients will be discharged from the Support & Therapy Service when their SPC needs have been met.  This will be discussed with the patient and carers.
  • The referrer and GP will be informed of the discharge date.

Drop-In Service

  • Drop-In days are held on Fridays at Kirkwood.
  • Opening hours are 10.00am – 3.00pm.
  • This service will be held every week except on Bank Holidays.
  • The service is provided for anyone affected in any way by a life-threatening illness.  Patients, relatives and carers may self-refer to this service.  With their consent their GP will be informed that they have accessed the service.

References

NCHSPCS 2002 Definitions of Supportive and Palliative Care, London, NCHSPCS.

National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), 2004 Improving Supportive and Palliative Care for Adults with Cancer, London, NICE.