Update on Coronavirus

When visiting the hospice building, we ask that you continue to wear wear a face mask at all times. Failing to wear your face mask correctly puts your loved one and our teams at risk. You can help keep our patients safe by making sure your mask is covering your mouth and nose at all times. Any exceptions to wearing a face mask must be discussed with the Sister or Nurse in charge.

If you have any of the main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), you must stay at home (self-isolate) and get a test.

The main symptoms of coronavirus are:

• A high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
• A new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
• A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

Most people with COVID-19 have at least one of these symptoms. If you have any of the main symptoms:

• Stay at home (self-isolate)
• Get a test – get a test to check if you have coronavirus as soon as possible. Anyone you live with should also get a test if they have symptoms. You can find out more using the NHS 111 online coronavirus service: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/

We continue to closely follow the government's recommendations to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission to our patients, who are most vulnerable, visitors and our employees.

Our latest visiting guidance was updated on Monday 14th February 2022.

Each patient can have up to 5 nominated visitors who are able to visit regularly. Any children visiting (apart from babies and preschool-aged children) should be included in the maximum of 5 nominated visitors.

We are able to accommodate visits of up to 4 hours a day in total. All patient visits should be planned in advance with up to 2 visitors permitted at any one time over the course of one day (essential care givers are exempt from this daily limit).

We kindly ask that you organise these visits between the 5 nominated visitors if possible and inform the nurse looking after your loved one. Nominated visitors are not changeable and must remain the same for the duration of a patient's stay.

Outdoor visits for other friends or family members over the 5 nominated visitors can be accommodated for up to 2 additional persons at the discretion of the Senior Nurse.

We ask all named visitors to undertake a Lateral Flow Test (LFT) on the day of their visit and have a negative result ready to show to our Reception team. Please do not visit the In-Patient Unit if you are living in a household where COVID-19 is present. We also ask you to refrain from visiting if you are feeling unwell, even if you have tested negative for COVID-19 and are fully vaccinated.

On entry to the building please apply hand gel and wear a face mask provided by The Kirkwood. Please ensure you wear your face mask at all times. Failing to wear your face mask correctly puts your loved one and our teams at risk. You can help keep our patients safe by making sure your mask is covering your mouth and nose. Any exceptions to wearing a face mask must be discussed with the Sister or Nurse in charge.

Before entering the In-Patient Unit, please ensure you sign in at Reception and sign out when leaving. You are also signing to declare that you will comply with The Kirkwood COVID-19 safety measures.

Please note: Following admission to The Kirkwood, patients are not permitted to come and go from the unit unless for arranged hospital visits/appointments.

Those wishing to visit patients who are in the last few days or hours of life

Visits are allowed for nominated visitors, with no time limit on visiting. Overnight stays are also now permitted for those visiting people in the last days or hours of life.

Exceptions

We understand that every patient’s circumstances are different and, where appropriate, we may be able to make exceptions to our guidance on visiting the In-Patient Unit, including if you are a key carer for someone in our care. Any exceptions will be made at the discretion of the senior nurse in charge.

These exceptions may include instances where a patient is at greater risk of distress, such as those with learning difficulties, language difficulties or dementia. We may also make exceptions if our team believes that a patient is experiencing significant psychological distress.

Discretion will also be used for requests involving visitor numbers where a visitor cannot visit independently, such as children or elderly visitors.

All exceptions must be agreed by our Clinical Services Manager or Senior Sisters.

We encourage you organise some form of communication to keep you connected with your loved one. This could be via WhatsApp, Facetime or the use of a mobile phone. We also have devices available on the In-Patient Unit to help people stay in touch with loved ones.

We know that not being able to visit as often as usual will be difficult for many of you. We hope you understand that we have not taken the decision to restrict visitors to the hospice lightly. Our priority is to make sure our patients and those looking after them are protected as much as possible, and we really appreciate your understanding and co-operation.

Our team of specialist Nurses are continuing to support patients across Kirklees and are available 7 days a week. The team are undertaking assessments via home visits, virtual consultation and telephone. If you have any queries, please contact the team on: 01484 557 910

Support &Therapy services continue to offer a limited virtual calendar that varies from month to month.These sessions are suitable for anyone affected by a life limiting illness, including carers. Click here to find out more.

The team are now delivering information sessions in the community; at the moment in GP surgeries in different areas of Kirklees. We are delivering in The Valleys Primary Care Network (Holmfirth, Slaithwaite, Meltham etc.) and have started to deliver sessions in the Spen Health and Wellbeing Network (SHAWN), primarily basing ourselves at Brookwood Surgery in Heckmondwike. We are currently working with The Mast Primary Care Network to see how our community sessions could be delivered closer to people in the HD8 area.

Support and Therapy is just one of the services from The Kirkwood that can support anyone affected by a life limited illness. Individuals can self-refer to our services by phoning: 01484 557 910 or can be referred by any health professional.

The Kirkwood Counselling Team are once again offering face to face counselling sessions at the Dalton site. The team are also continuing to provide telephone support, pre and post bereavement, to ensure that patients, carers, relatives, and friends are still able to access support if they are unable to travel. Please note that we only accept referrals from people who are bereaved through a life threatening illness. The same criteria applies to patients, relatives and friends for pre-bereavement work.

If you would like to speak to us about making an appointment, please call the team on: 01484 557 908

To support our Community Palliative Care Team we have a Care Co-ordination service. This service helps to co-ordinate the needs of our patients and support them with additional services they may need. The team are also a point of contact for you. We know that many of our patients are vulnerable and shielding at the moment, so in anticipation of the increased support our patients will need at this time we have increased the number of people working in this service.

Our Clinical Advice Line is available 24/7 to provide help and support whenever it is needed. If you need advice or support at any time, please call: 01484 557910

We are committed to ensuring the safety of our patients, visitors, employees, volunteers and members of the public across both the  hospice site and our retail shops. We are fully compliant with all government advice and regulations, and we're actively monitoring guidance so we can implement changes effectively.
 
We have undertaken Risk Assessments for each of our shops, and for various activity at the hospice, including the use of volunteers. Where possible, non-clinical employees are working from home indefinitely with ongoing support from their line managers. Employees that are required to work on the hospice site are adhering to social distancing where appropriate and we have introduced social distancing  signage and extra hand washing points. We have also introduced social distancing signage, one way systems and extra hand washing points in all of our shops.