Palliative Care is the care and support we give to patients at the end of their lives.
Our Palliative Care Department gives advice and support to all parts of the Trust.
This page tells you more about the work of this department, and the services on offer.
The Palliative and End of Life Care Department aims to ensure that all people who need it have access to rapid, high quality palliative and end of life care in a place of care of their choice. Palliative care promotes the physical, psychological, social and spiritual well-being of patients and carers throughout their illness.
Individual patients and their families benefit from a high quality, compassionate service that brings together many different healthcare professionals working in partnership to support every individual's needs.
Staff and volunteers from across all hospital departments contribute to the Trust's provision of high quality, individualised palliative and end of life care.
The Palliative and End of Life Care Department oversees the quality of this care across the Trust, and also provides and supports a range of specialist services, including:
Many patient's individual palliative and end of life care needs can be met by the services that are already providing their care. The Hospital Specialist Palliative Care Team provides support to those services and can advise and support patients' palliative and end of life care needs alongside those services.
Patients with more complex, high dependency palliative care needs can be referred to the Academic Palliative Care Unit from other services within the Trust.
Patient's also benefit from the range of services outlined above.
Patients are supported by the services in the department outlined above depending on their individual needs. Each individual's needs are different and we aim to bring the very best, evidence-based care, for every patient and their families.
The aim of our service is to ensure that all people who need it have access to rapid, high quality palliative and end of life care in a place of care of their choice. Palliative care promotes the physical, psychological, social and spiritual well-being of patients and carers throughout their illness. Individual patients and their families benefit from a high quality, compassionate service that brings together many different healthcare professionals working in partnership to support every individual's needs.
Many patients supported by our service are discharged to their preferred place of care, which can include being supported to go home, to their care home or to a hospice by our Palliative and End of Life Care Discharge Service or Rapid Discharge Service and depending upon their wishes and clinical needs.
Palliative and End of Life Care is a high priority for the Trust. It is developed and overseen by a Palliative and End of Life Care Trust Strategy Group with multi-professional representation including at Executive and Trust Board level, including the Chief Executive and named Board Member for Palliative and End of Life Care.
The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust provides a centre for world-leading research and service innovation, delivered through the Trust's partnership in the Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute Liverpool, along with the University of Liverpool and the national charity Marie Curie.
This means that patients benefit from the latest research based innovative and compassionate care whilst also having the opportunity to take part in research that improves care for the future, leaving a legacy for the benefit of future patients as innovations and learning are shared in the UK and globally.
This vital work is supported by a Research Reference Group for Palliative and End of Life Care and by the Research and Development, Service Innovation and Improvement and Learning and Teaching Divisions of the Institute.
The multi-professional team is led by Professor John Ellershaw - Professor of Palliative Medicine, Palliative and End of Life Care Department Clinical Lead, Director MCPCIL and Deborah Murphy - Palliative and End of Life Care Department Manager, Department QualityGovernance lead, Associate Director MCPCIL.
The Palliative and End of Life Care Department supports patients and their families across all hospital departments and visiting hours reflect those of the wards where patients are being cared for.
The Academic Palliative Care Unit (Ward 4Y) provides care for patients with complex, high-dependency palliative care needs. Visiting hours for the Unit are open, with the facility for families to stay overnight if required.
The Department can be contacted on 0151 706 2274
The Palliative and End of Life Care Department supports patients and their families across all hospital departments and locations and visiting hours reflect those of the wards where patients are being cared for.
The Academic Palliative Care Unit is on Ward 4Y. On entering the hospital main entrance please proceed past main reception bearing left and follow the short corridor to the main lifts. Take the lifts to the 4th floor and follow signs for Ward 4Y. Press the buzzer labelled 4Y to request access to the Unit.