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

The in-patient unit (IPU) at St Elizabeth Hospice provides specialised palliative care for the relief of pain and other distressing symptoms, whilst at all times aiming to maintain dignity and patient choice.

There are eighteen beds for in-patients who, for a variety of reasons, cannot be looked after in their own homes.

As well as expert medical and nursing care, a variety of activities and therapies are offered which are flexible and sensitive to individual needs.

We take a holistic approach to care that takes the physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs of each patient in to account. The average length of stay is thirteen days and there are no beds for long-term stay.

Facilities

Our in-patient unit has eighteen beds including three spacious, single-sex wards, Larch, Willow and Maple; each with four beds. We also have six en-suite single rooms, two of which have facilities for family members wishing to stay overnight. Sometimes, patients are moved into different bays or rooms to allow us to admit as many patients as we can.

The wards and each single room have access to a piped oxygen system. Part of the Unit is also covered by overhead tracking equipment which, when used with a hoist, enables less mobile patients to be transported from their beds to use the bathroom facilities.

Respite care

'Respite beds' to give carers a break may be offered for (usually) seven days. If, as sometimes occurs, a patient cannot return home, help would be given to find a suitable place, such as anursing home or residential placement.

Visiting times

Monday- Sunday 10:00 - 21:00.
For more information, please call the in-patient unit, on 01473 707000. A cordless telephone is also available for family and friends to speak directly to a patient 01473 727162.

Admissions and discharges

Anyone can refer to the Hospice; however most referrals are made by a doctor or nurse. If the patient or a family member, social care services or others make a referral, the patient's doctor and/or district or Macmillan nurse will normally be contacted for further information and to confirm that referral is appropriate.

Patients will not be admitted without the prior knowledge of, and agreement with, the individual patient and his/her family.

The ultimate responsibility for clinical care within the Hospice lies with the medical director. In determining the need for admission, consultants will consult with the nursing team and family support and such other persons as may be appropriate.

Returning home

Plans for patients' discharge will be discussed with the patient and their family well in advance, in order to allow time for all the arrangements to be made for continuing the patient's care at home.

The doctor, nurses and family support worker will contact the patient's GP and where needed, district nurse, Macmillan nurse and social care services to organise home care, Meals on Wheels etc.

The community nursing team and where appropriate the Hospice at Home team, will be made aware of the patient's homecoming and of any changes during the patient's stay in the Hospice and the patient's present and possible future needs.

The patient's GP and hospital consultant(s) will also receive a letter within thirteen days from one of the hospice doctors containing this information.

St Elizabeth Hospice is an independent hospice and a registered charity. Care is provided free of charge to all patients needing its specialist services. The only criteria for admission to the hospice services is that of medical need.