Day Care Services
We welcome everyone who will benefit from our expertise. Our staff, patients and carers work together as a team with one shared aim – to provide individualised care whilst maintaining the dignity privacy and informed choice for each patient, with the aim to improve quality of life.
Day care offers an honest and open environment, and we aim to make your visit as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
What is ‘day care’?
The ‘Day Care Unit’ is a homely environment in which we can provide individual care for up to 12 people each day (Monday to Friday). You will usually be asked to attend one day a week for 6 weeks , this attendance will then be reviewed on a 6 weekly basis. If you would prefer to come for a visit prior to your first attendance this can be arranged.
To ensure you receive the care you need, our team consists of:
- Nurses, both trained and untrained
- Doctors
- Physiotherapists
- Pharmacist
- Social Worker
- Occupational therapist
- Dietician
- Chaplain
- Hairdresser
- Volunteers
- Domestics
- Administrative support
On your first attendance a trained nurse and doctor will spend time getting to know you and discussing any problems you might have. This helps us to support you as much as we can. The doctor and nurses will review your care on a regular basis.
If you need to take any medication during the day, you should bring this with you.
You are welcome to join in activities such as simple craftwork or bring with you anything you enjoy doing at home. You may just wish to relax; perhaps to socialise with others; or you may enjoy a little physiotherapy or complementary therapy. All of this can be discussed when you first arrive.
There will be a choice of menu for lunch. Drinks and snacks are available throughout the day.
In short, we’ll try our best to meet your needs – whatever they may be.
Transport
Day Care is situated within Monkwearmouth Hospital.
Some patients prefer a relative or friend to bring them, but if you require transport we can arrange this, collecting you at around 9:30 am and taking you home again at 4:00 pm. There is no charge for this service.
Day care can provide an assessment of patients with palliative care needs which may include physical, psychological, social, spiritual or emotional problems.
The purpose of day care is to focus upon the individual’s quality of life through the provision of a wide range of supporting services. Our aim is to promote independence to enable the patient to remain at home and therefore can offer any of the following:
- Psychosocial support e.g. those having difficulty in dealing with the knowledge of diagnosis/prognosis, those with housing, personal, family issues
- Those who need social contact with people in a similar situation-social respite
- Family respite
- On-going supportive care for patients discharged home from the inpatient unit
- Active rehabilitation
- Medical Review
- Supportive interventions i.e. blood transfusions, zoledronic acid etc
- Complementary therapies
- Diversional therapies
Referrals may be made by:-
- Hospital Consultant
- Specialist Palliative Care Nurse Team
- Cancer Site Specific Nurses (Sunderland Royal Hospital) following assessment of the patient and with the agreement of Consultant)
- General Practitioner/District Nurse
- Hospice Team
- Named Nurse Acute Services
- Self re-referral if you have attended the unit previously