Palliative Care
LOCATION: Office on A Level, Junction 2 (opposite the lifts near the corridor to the canteen)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Palliative Care team within the hospital is made up of 8 specialist Nurses supported by senior Doctors from the Rotherham wide Palliative Care Team. The doctors tend to visit the hospital for 3 morning sessions a week. The Palliative Care Team works in an advisory capacity and so the patients remain under their own treating team. We seek to provide holistic assessment and care for those affected by life limiting illness. We are often asked to support treating teams with issues around symptom management, emotional support and care planning for post-discharge. WHAT YOU MIGHT SEE/DO: As a team we discuss patients in the form of a board round and then the Doctor will assess the most complex patients wherever they are in the hospital and offer advice to the patient's own treating team. You may get the opportunity to talk with patients about their symptoms, perform aspects of physical examination and discuss management plans. We will often only see 2 - 3 patients during each session, but we will take a holistic approach and consider aspects of physical, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Some of the patients we support are extremely unwell or may be in their last days of life. In this situation, students may be exposed to patients and families who are emotional distressed and this will offer opportunities to reflect on communication skills and how we support the dying process. KEY CONTACT: Dr Katie Flint, Locum Consultant in Palliative Medicine Email: [email protected] |
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