Please note that due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we have changed how these services operate. Please read our latest advice by clicking here.
Family Support is available to all patients and their carers and families. The Family Support team consists of qualified palliative care social workers, and the Bereavement Service, a team of counsellors and befrienders.
Social Workers
Our palliative care social workers can advise about or arrange for any practical help as well as provide emotional support to all patients and families who attend the various services the hospice offers. This includes the Inpatient Unit, day therapies and Outpatient Clinics.
An assessment of need is provided for each individual patient on the ward and in Day Therapy, and a tailored package of care can be organised for the patient’s last weeks or months of life, including day calls and night sitters for when a return home is possible. They also assist with referrals to appropriate statutory, voluntary and community services when required.
The social work team can make assessments for benefits, and assist with financial concerns including making applications for grants. Other support available includes help making a will and/or implementing Advance Care Planning, which could include discussions regarding preferred place of care, treatment refusals or appointing someone to make decisions for you. All patients’ needs are monitored, reviewed as the need changes, and are always in accord with the wishes of the patient whenever possible.
Bereavement Service
The Bereavement Service offers support and advice to anyone who has been bereaved, and to the families and carers of people living with life-limiting illnesses. This includes individual counselling which is available at the Hospice and other locations. Children and young people are supported by the dedicated service Reflect where the counsellors arrange visits in schools or sessions in the Hospice.
The Bereavement Service also has a team of befrienders, who provide more informal, but still confidential, support, as well as running a fortnightly drop-in group in Mollington.
For more information on the Bereavement Service including the adult service, Reflect and the befrienders, visit the Family Support & Bereavement Services page.
The Wednesday Group
The Hospice Wednesday Group is a weekly support group for patients and their families organised by the hospice social work team, and ably assisted by a dedicated band of volunteers.
As a group, we visit a variety of places in the locality, including garden centres, seaside resorts, museums, theatres, country parks, craft centres and bird sanctuaries. We have even branched out to include ten pin bowling! Lunch is enjoyed at many different locations around Cheshire, Wirral and Merseyside. On some weeks, we meet at a nearby village hall, where we have guest speakers, entertainers, quizzes, or just provide a place for people to chat.
The Wednesday Group provides an opportunity for people who find themselves in similar situations to support each other as they live with illness and undergo treatment. This may mean sharing experiences of diagnosis and treatment, but it is just as likely to provide an opportunity to talk about other areas of their lives.
The group provides an opportunity to take part in everyday, enjoyable activities, knowing that appropriate support is always on hand. It also provides a relaxed atmosphere for contact with the social worker team to discuss any concerns.
