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Referral to Dove House

Referrals to all clinical services should be made during office hours through the Dove House Hospice medical administration team. The contact number is 01482 784343 and ask for the medical secretaries. They will take initial referrals during office hours for any part of the service. Once the referral is taken, it will be dealt with by the relevant department. If the referral is made out of office hours, it can be taken by the bedded unit staff but unless it is for an emergency admission to the bedded unit, it will not be dealt with until the next working day.

The hospice has an open referral system so we accept referrals from the patient themselves, relatives or friends, or any involved healthcare professional such as the GP or District Nurse. Referrals must have a diagnosis of a life-limiting illness or if the referral is related to bereavement issues, there must be a previous link or involvement with Dove House Hospice. The patient's permission must be sought prior to referral being made for any service.

Please note that acceptance of a referral is based and prioritized on clinical risk issues alone. For example, if two patients have been referred to the in-patient unit and only one bed is available, the patients will be prioritized according to clinical need. If one is at home, alone and in pain, they would take preference over a patient who was in pain but in a hospital bed. In the hospital, the patient is at least safe and looked after. Also, the hospice would advise and liaise with the hospital palliative care team to ensure that the patient was receiving appropriate support and treatment.

For further information, please contact Denise Field, Senior Clinical Administrator on 01482 784343 or e-mail medical@dovehouse.org.uk