There is lots of information that can help patients and families navigate their way through hospice care. We have produced a range of fact sheets covering helpful topics from planning your future care to dealing with breathlessness. You will also find over 400 health and care videos covering a wide range of health topics.
Guidance for visitors to the hospice during the pandemic +
Advice for Patients, families and visitors about Coronavirus
Please do not visit the hospice inpatient unit or outpatient department if you have any of the following symptoms:
- A new continuous cough OR
- High temperature (37.8 degrees centigrade or higher)
- A loss of or change to your sense of smell or taste
- You have any symptoms of coronavirus (a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste)
- You’ve tested positive for coronavirus – this means you have coronavirus
- You live with someone who has symptoms or has tested positive
- Someone in your support bubble has symptoms or has tested positive
- You’re told by NHS Test and Trace that you’ve been in contact with a person with coronavirus
If you have any of these symptoms, please stay at home and self-isolate for 14 days. If your condition worsens please call NHS 111 for advice.
For the most recent information visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Our visiting policy on the Inpatient Unit is currently to have no more than 2 visitors at the bedside at any one time. There is no requirement to have nominated visitors. If patients are in the garden up to 6 visitors can visit, maintaining social distancing between them and other patients and their visitors.
We are advised by infection prevention to ask all visitors to put on a face mask or covering to wear during their visit. Please bring your own facemask and if this is a homemade cloth mask please take it home to wash at 60 degrees. Use a clean mask for all your visits. Advice on how to wear or make a face mask is available at: GOV.UK/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering. We are also asking visitors to undertake lateral flow testing on the day of their visit. We can offer this at the time of visiting.
During this current wave of COVID, mainly affecting children and young people, we request that children under the age of 11 visit their relative outside in the gardens (except in exceptional circumstances – please discuss with a senior member of the clinical team).
We are still asking all visitors over the age of 11 to undertake a lateral flow test on the day of visiting – either done on site here before your visit at the bedside or at home where this is available to you.
Our normal hours for visitors are between 11:00 and 21:00. It would help our staff and our housekeeping teams to keep vigilant in infection prevention precautions by ensuring there are some gaps in visiting during the day. Patient’s own pets may visit by prior arrangement with the senior nurse; however, like humans they need to be kept 2m distance for all other patients, visitors and staff.
As with the guidance above if you or anyone in your family or anyone you are in contact with has symptoms of Coronavirus or has tested positive, are required to self-isolate please do not visit the inpatient unit.
If you or a member of your family are being visited by one of the Rowcroft community teams:
Prior to your visit we will be asking if you or a member of your family has any symptoms of Coronovirus or have tested positive, or are required to self isolate. As an alternative to visiting you at home we can offer video/telephone assessment, review and support. If you do require a visit, when the team member visits they will be required to wear full personal protective equipment, this includes a face mask, gloves and plastic apron. They will remove this at the end of the visit and place it in a bag for you to kindly dispose of. We would be grateful if you could provide hand washing facilities. We are doing this through the guidance provided by the government and to ensure we keep everyone as safe as possible.
In addition, patients being cared for in their own home will be asked prior to a visit by Rowcroft staff or volunteers if they have any of the above symptoms. This is to protect you and other patients and our people from potential infection.
All our services are currently ‘business as usual’; however, we are keeping up to date daily with Public Health England guidance and will post further information as needed.
Please remember the single most important way to prevent spread of coronavirus is by effective hand washing with soap and water. If visiting our inpatient or outpatient department we will ask you to wash your hands before entering clinical areas.
All visitors are now requested to wear a facemask during visits. Please wherever possible bring your own face mask with you and wear a clean facemask for each visit.
Patients and Families Factsheets +
- Changes to the Reg. of Deaths (TORBAY & DEVON) 2020
- Planning For Your Future Care
- Advance Care Planning - Planning For Your Future Care
- Easy Read Future Care Plan
- Supportive and Palliative Care in Heart Failure
- What to expect when someone important to you is dying
- Advance Decision Pack
- Statement of Purpose 2021
- Rowcroft Hospice at Home Info for Patients and Families
- Rowcroft Hospice Bereavement Leaflet
- Rowcroft Hospice Bereavement Resources
- Rowcroft Hospice Breathlessness
- Rowcroft Hospice Coping With Dying
- Rowcroft Hospice Intimacy and Personal Relationships Leaflet
- Rowcroft Hospice Medication and Driving Leaflet
- Rowcroft Hospice Palliative Care And Social Work Leaflet
- Rowcroft Hospice Patient Admission to Inpatient Unit
- Rowcroft Hospice Patients and Carers Resources Booklet
- Rowcroft Hospice Treatment Escalation Plan
- Rowcroft Hospice Compliments, Complaints or Concerns
- Rowcroft Hospice Community Team Leaflet 2021
- Rowcroft Hospice Electronic Patient Info Leaflet
- Rowcroft Hospice Relaxation Leaflet
- Rowcroft Hospice Spirituality Leaflet
- Access to your data
- Rowcroft Hospice Inpatient Unit information
