Introducing St Elizabeth Hospice
Who are we?
Established in Ipswich in 1989, St Elizabeth Hospice provides specialist palliative and supportive care to people from east Suffolk and parts of Norfolk.
We aim to improve the life of every person we care for, including our patients’ families and carers. We want everyone whose lives we touch to have the chance to ‘be yourself.’ To help make this happen, we can provide our services within the community, in the home or in a care home. We also run a Day Care Centre for added care during and after treatment.
What do we do?
St Elizabeth Hospice aims to improve life for people living with progressive illnesses such as: cancer; heart, lung or kidney disease; multiple sclerosis; motor neurone disease; and any other progressive illness.
When you’re in our care, we’ll put your needs first. We’ll help you deal with pain, anxiety and fatigue, offering practical advice and support for your family too.
You can receive our services including complementary therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and counselling with our community service as well as our Day Centre and Inpatient Unit (IPU).
You can also get specialist advice by telephoning 0800 56 70 111, our OneCall support line. It’s free to call us from a BT landline and the lines are open 24 hours each day, 7 days a week, throughout the year.
What is specialist palliative care?
Palliative care doesn’t cure illness or disease, but can help control challenging symptoms and make life easier for patients and their families.
Our care can:
- help you control symptoms such as pain, breathlessness, nausea and vomiting
- offer emotional and psychological support to both you and your family
- stay in touch with other professionals and organisations involved in your care
- provide information and advice about all aspects of your care
- help you deal with practical and financial concerns
- give you spiritual support
What area do we cover?
Our hospice services, including our OneCall advice line, covers east Suffolk (and both south and east Norfolk.)
We offer day services in Ditchingham and Gorleston. Our community services, including Hospice at Home, operate throughout East Suffolk, and our inpatient beds are at our Foxhall Road site in Ipswich.
In all cases, our specialist medical and nursing staff will take care of you with the help of our family support workers and volunteers.
How can you contact us for help or advice?
The best way to get in touch is by telephoning our OneCall service on 0800 56 70 111.
OneCall is open to all patients, relatives, carers, GPs, nurses, other medical professionals, plus health and social care workers.
We have Clinical Nurse Specialists at our end of the line to give you expert advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you’re a patient facing a new symptom, a carer worried about giving the correct dosage of pain
relief, or a doctor with a question, OneCall is here to support you.
Calls are free from a BT landline, while the cost of calls from other networks – including mobile phones – may vary.
Our team
Our skilled teams include doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, complementary therapists, family support workers, healthcare assistants, and trained volunteers.
We offer our support to family members and carers as well as patients.
How can you get involved?
By listening to the views of our patients and their families, as well as to carers and staff, we can continue to deliver high quality care and support.
This approach also makes sure that everyone involved with the hospice’s services feels valued, comfortable and safe.
In 2005, we established the St Elizabeth Hospice Partnership Group to encourage this dialogue and
generate a sense of belonging.
The group aims to:
- be sensitive and responsive to the needs and preferences of hospice users
- give hospice users and professionals a chance to highlight issues for discussion
- help review existing services and plan for the future
- let the hospice’s senior management team hear these views
A mix of patients, carers and professionals from the hospice are in the group. They can draw upon the advice and guidance of other people, in and outside of the hospice, to help them achieve the group’s aims. For details on how to get involved with the Partnership Group, please visit our website: stelizabethhospice.org.uk.
What else can you do?
Every day, we hear about how our services have touched someone deeply and inspired them to give something back to the hospice.
We are only able to maintain the breadth and depth of our services thanks to the help we receive from so many volunteers and fundraisers. We are always delighted to welcome you if you’re able to support our work by donating your time and skills.
You can help us financially too, of course.
You could take part in our weekly lottery, buy some items from one of our hospice shops, or host a fundraising event. Or you could simply take part in one of the many sponsored activities that our fundraising team organise each year.
Alternatively, you may decide to leave the hospice a gift in your will, or set up a direct debit and start donating regularly.
How are we funded?
St Elizabeth Hospice is an independent charity. Each year, about 25 per cent of our funding comes from NHS grants and contracts from local Clinical Commissioning Groups. We have to generate the remaining 75 per cent of the money we need through donations and fundraising. Wherever possible, we provide our services free of charge.