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565 Foxhall Road
Ipswich,
Suffolk
IP3 8LX
T: (01473) 727776
F: (01473) 274717
Email us here

Family support

St Elizabeth Hospice's family support team offers practical, emotional and spiritual support to patients, family, friends and carers. All members of the family support team are professionally trained and assisted by loyal and dedicated volunteers.

Family support is available to any person, their family, friends or carers who have been referred to Hospice day care, in-patient care and out-patients clinics.

Family support offers a wide range of services including:

• Liaison with health, social care and voluntary organisations in the community
• Information and advice regarding welfare benefits and legal matters
• Practical advice on resources and information
• Assisting patients and families with making private arrangements for home care or nursing care
• Liaising with social care concerning planning for discharges from the Hospice
• Counselling service for patients/carers
• Support groups for patients and families

Family work may include:

• Enabling couples and families to talk about what they are facing and gain support from one another
• Assisting families to make important decisions
• Preparing children, in partnership with their parents, for loss or support with their bereavement
• Negotiating and liaising with teachers and employers.

Who can refer to the family support service?

Patients, families and carers may refer themselves. Patients can also be referred by professionals within the Hospice multidisciplinary team, GPs, Macmillan nurses, community nurses and social workers in the community.