Out of Hours Support

Weekend and Bank Holiday Advice Line

At weekends and bank holidays, we have a nurse specialist available on the telephone from 9am to 5pm. They will have access to your records and be able to provide advice and support to you and your family.

For support outside of these hours if you have a GP in West Sussex

Hospice support is provided in addition to the care you may already be receiving from other healthcare services. Your GP will remain your primary contact and will continue to oversee your care.

Ongoing contact with the Hospice

Ongoing support and contact is provided according to your needs. Some people find they do not require any further specialist support from the Hospice and are discharged from our services after a period of care and support. If your circumstances were to change following discharge, you would be able to be referred back to the Hospice.

What can my expectations be of St Wilfrid's Hospice?

We aim to provide you with the care that you and your loved ones need and we will work closely with other health and social care professionals, including GPs, community nurses and care agencies. However, as a charity, our resources are limited and we are unable to provide 24 hour care at home.

The End of Life Care Hub is a nurse led, 24 hours a day, telephone coordination service that has been set up for patients in the Coastal West Sussex area and is a collaboration between the Hospices of Coastal West Sussex and the NHS. Provided that you are registered with the service this will be discussed with you upon referral to St Wilfrid's Hospice. You will be able to contact the End of Life Care Hub (also known as Echo) and can call the following number:

The Echo service will have access to your records so that they can provide advice and support over the telephone for you or your loved ones. It aims to put you in touch with services that can support patients who may be in the last year of life.

For support outside of these hours if you have a GP in Hampshire

Patients with GPs in Hampshire are able to call us for support. However, after 5pm they are able to contact the Hospice to talk to the ward staff but are advised to contact 111 for assistance if the call is urgent.

Deciding what to do when the heart stops

At St Wilfrid’s Hospice, we think it is important to discuss with you about your future care and wishes, including decisions about cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Cardiopulmonary arrest means a person’s heart and breathing stop. When this happens it is occasionally possible to restart their heart and breathing with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Many of our patients’ discussions will result in a decision not to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) record will be put in place.

Please ask your nurse or doctor for more detailed information about how decisions are made. Our policy on resuscitation is that in an emergency, if there is a chance of success and no DNACPR decision has been made, we will attempt CPR. However, St Wilfrid’s is a specialist unit and offers a different sort of care to the hospital. Our staff are trained in first aid CPR, but we do not have the facilities or specifically trained staff to offer advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Therefore, an emergency 999 ambulance will be called.