Zest Young Adult Service - St Elizabeth Hospice Ipswich IP3 8LX

Did you know we care for people aged 14 and upwards?

St Elizabeth Hospice has been developing Zest since 2015, working closely with children’s hospice services to ensure young adults have a smooth transition into adult care.

Zest supports young adults aged 14 and upwards with progressive and incurable illnesses to ensure that they get the specialist care, tailored treatment and services they need to be able to enjoy life to the full.

See what Zest is like by watching this video:

Zest services on offer in your local area:

Ipswich & East Suffolk:

Transition nurse coordination support for young adults living with life-limiting or incurable illness
Group support with Zest X-Change - a monthly evening social group for young adults 14 years upwards, a monthly parent support group and a monthly Saturday family drop in session.
Regular proactive 6 monthly clinical reviews with a doctor or nurse, and access to the hospice multi-disciplinary team. Discussions of each person at a multidisciplinary meeting on a regular basis.
Development of emergency care plans and other care plans to guide all health and social care professionals in the individualized management of the young adult.
Residential short break weekends for those aged 18 and above
Zest Days - themed activities every Friday at St Elizabeth Hospice for those aged 18 and above.
Support from our OneCall advice phoneline out of hours which includes consultant support: 0800 567 0111

West Suffolk:

Transition nurse coordination support for young adults living with life-limiting or incurable illness
Group support with Zest X-Change - a monthly evening social group for young adults 14 years upwards, a monthly parent support group and a monthly Saturday family drop in session.
Residential short break weekends for those aged 18 and above
Zest Days - themed activities every Friday for those aged 18 and above.

Colchester & North East Essex:

Transition nurse coordination support for young adults living with life-limiting or incurable illness
Group support with Zest X-Change - a monthly evening social group for young adults 14 years upwards, a monthly parent support group and a monthly Saturday family drop in session.

Great Yarmouth & Waveney (coming soon)

We are hoping to expand Zest into Great Yarmouth & Waveney in the near future.

Our Zest care standards for families across the region

We will ensure all care is provided with dignity, respecting what is important to you
We will provide holistic care that includes the whole family
We strive to create a home from home environment
We will strive to make your priorities our priorities
We will give you our empathy and energy to enable the best care
We will provide care with a smile, and do all we can to enable you to feel happy at Zest
We will provide proactive care, attention to detail and think outside the box
We will offer you fun and social opportunities at Zest, whilst in the background providing high standards of care
We strive to enable you to have control over your care
We will encourage wise decisions but recognise when you able to make your own choices
We will ensure staff have the skills and confidence needed so you can trust us and feel safe at Zest
- We will enable you to share ideas and together ensure we are innovative at Zest
- We will always be open to learning from you and will always aim to improve your experience of Zest care

How we can support you

Discover Zest services & dates

Zest currently offers a range of services for young adults and their families, including Zest Voices where you can have your say.

Click the buttons below to find out more:

Zest X-Change

Short Breaks

Zest Days

Transition support

Family drop-in

Open events

Make a referral

Zest patient stories

Parent & Carer Support Group Dates

Zest Voices Dates

Transitional care

The team here at St Elizabeth Hospice like to start getting to know young adults from the age of 14 to prepare them and their family for the transition to our services. We provide shared care with local children’s services to enable a smooth transition into adult care.

Our team can provide support with transition coordination, to help families navigate the journey of transition from children’s to adult’s services. We are happy to attend education, health and care plan reviewing meetings and other transition planning meetings to support an easier transition from children's to adults services.

As part of our transitional care service we run a monthly young adult social group called Zest X-Change in our day centre at the hospice on Foxhall Road, enabling young adults and their families to build connections with St Elizabeth Hospice through regular, meaningful visits.

How to make a referral

If you would like to find out more about our service you can speak to a member of our team or arrange a visit, or find out about any upcoming open events. Call our team on: 01473 707032

We can take a referral direct from a patient, family member or carer, or from a professional.

We accept referrals for young adult aged between 14-40 year olds who are living with a life-limiting or life threatening conditions.

Reasons for referrals

To improve and support quality of life whilst living with an incurable and/or progressive condition, including:

Support with transition from children’s care and children's hospice care
Help with managing symptoms, changing needs of the patient and their family, or deterioration in patient's condition
Support planning for the future
To reduce social isolation and provide opportunities for peer support
Supportive care for the whole family
Access to specialist Zest day service and short breaks for young adults with complex care needs

Make a referral