Our Inpatient Unit
What do I need to know about staying at ACCORD?
The Inpatient Unit has the ability and facilities to admit and care for eight patients, with each individual room having an en-suite and outdoor patio area. Patients may require to be admitted to our unit for various reasons, for example;
- Assessment of medication
- Symptom control of your pain
- Help to improve mobility and activity
- When the end of your life is getting closer
While you are at ACCORD, we will try to help you achieve the things that matter most to you at the end of your life.
Inpatient care might be right for you
Inpatient care is often most associated with the advanced stage of illness, some patients are able to return home once we’ve helped them get their symptoms under control.
Sometimes people come in so we can help manage pain or control nausea, and a short-term stay often gives improved symptom control and also offers much-needed support to a patient’s family and carers.
What to bring with you?
Patients are asked to bring any current medications with them. Patients can also choose to bring day clothes, nightwear, slippers and toiletries with them.
Clothing
You may want to wear everyday indoor clothes while in the unit. We would encourage families to take any laundry home; however, if this is not possible facilities are available to launder clothes in the Hospice. There is a wardrobe to store all your clothes and belongings.
Valuables
We ask that all your valuables are sent home for safe keeping. The Hospice cannot take responsibility for any valuables you choose to keep in your possession.
Parking at ACCORD
Free parking is available at the Hospice, we just ask that you be respectful of disabled parking bays and the entrance to the Inpatient Unit to allow ambulance access. The Hospice cannot accept responsibility for cars and their contents at any time.
Smoking
ACCORD Hospice has a NO SMOKING policy for patients, visitors and staff within the Hospice and the immediate external grounds. This includes all tobacco based products and the use of E-Cigarettes. If patients require to smoke we have a designated smoking shelter outside of the Inpatient Unit - for patients ONLY. We do not offer a facility for visitors to smoke within the Hospice grounds.
Patients Meal Times
These are the meal times which are available when staying at ACCORD. Any foods brought into the ward that require to be refrigerated will be labelled with the patient's name and date. Please note that we can only refrigerate food items for 24 hours regardless of use by or sell by dates due to food safety standards. After this period food will be disposed of.
Spiritual and Pastoral Care
Spirituality is whatever gives you meaning in life, what is important to you right at that minute. It may be faith or religion that comes to mind, but not necessarily at the top of the list; thoughts of family; health or work may be your priority at that moment and will change regularly. Spiritual is a word that will mean different things to different people. For some, spiritual means religious, for others it means something much wider. Often it is a mix of both and depends on the person.
ACCORD recognises the diversity of people and their experience of spirituality. We will seek to be inclusive, to provide support whenever possible regardless of peoples’ ethnicity, religion, culture, disability, sexuality or gender identity. Spirituality in essence is unique to individuals; in providing spiritual support we recognise the need to assess each person, their story and their context without prejudice, creating an atmosphere where people feel able to seek and engage with the support they may need.
We also recognises the importance of the spiritual aspect of peoples’ lives. For most ACCORD staff, attention to spiritual need is intuitive and much excellent spiritual care has been delivered without those giving or receiving it necessarily recognising it as such.
Our aim is to encourage and enhance what is already happening and to be clear to all staff how spiritual care is to be regarded and addressed within the organisation. We do that with a comprehensive Spiritual Care policy and guidance supported by staff training, sensitive environments, spiritual care as a core part of assessment and by encouraging staff to seek solutions to meet peoples spiritual needs.
- All members of the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) including volunteers will be able to recognise the importance and appropriateness of spiritual care in the hospice and beyond.
- Each patient’s electronic case record will contain an initial spiritual assessment and evidence of ongoing spiritual distress screening.
- All patients approaching the end of their lives will have their spiritual needs assessed as part of our routine end of life care, unless their clinical situation makes this impracticable. These needs will be met whenever possible.
- All members of the MDT will be aware of the spiritual care structure within the hospice. They will also know how to direct patients and their family’s to the appropriate team members to assess and manage their spiritual needs.
- Patients and their family’s spiritual, religious and cultural needs will be assessed and as far as possible met in a person-centred and individualised way. Their needs and our approach to spiritual care will be clearly documented - and when appropriate will be handed over between members of the MDT.
We work in partnership with other faith and spiritual organisations to ensure support is available from the most appropriate people. Details of those partnerships is available for those who need more information.
Books of faith are accessible to all and are kept in the patient lounge.
Frequently asked questions
Here you will find some general questions our nursing team are asked regularly about staying at ACCORD
When the end of life is getting closer and you wish to be looked after in the Hospice, we will make every effort to respond as quickly as possible to make your wish happen.
''Thank you so much for giving our mum so much comfort and joy. All the smiles, hugs, laughter and chats giving her dignity, compassion and inner peace. Who could ever forget that Christmas hat!''
ACCORD Hospice Location
You may also be interested in other information about the Inpatient Unit
Referral Information
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Visiting ACCORD
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COVID Information
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Leaflets and information
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Donations change lives
Amazing people like you help us support those who need it most. “Everyone has been so generous, and the final total raised is testament to how adored my mum was at ACCORD hospice”