Palliative Care

What we do

Palliative Care is provided to patients who have progressive, incurable conditions and people who are approaching the end of their life. The aim of Palliative Care is to control symptoms, help people deal with the physical and psychological impact of illness and to offer support to the individual and their families. This often includes making plans for care in the future.

General Palliative Care is provided by all health care professionals looking after patients who have progressive and incurable conditions, and those that are approaching the end of their life. There are times where people may have needs that are more complicated, such as symptoms that are difficult to control or complex psychological needs. This is when additional support is required from healthcare professionals with expert knowledge in Palliative Care. At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) the Specialist Palliative Care (SPC) team provide care to these patients and their families.

The Specialist Palliative Care team consists of Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) and Palliative Medicine Consultants. There is a team based at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, who provide care to inpatients, and a team based at Accrington Victoria Community Hospital, who provide care to patients in the community (at home, community hospitals, care homes). The three consultants within the team provide care for patients in hospital, in the community and in outpatient clinics.

You may hear the Specialist Palliative Care team being referred to as the ‘Macmillan team’. Some of our Clinical Nurse Specialists are affiliated with Macmillan Cancer Support; others are not. The care and support patients receive is the same whether or not their CNS is associated with Macmillan Cancer Support. All staff see patients with cancer and non-cancer diagnoses.