The Inpatient Specialist Palliative Care Service from the MacMillan Unit in Christchurch Hospital has been temporarily relocated to the Derwent Suite at Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
The move has been made in an effort to provide better safeguarding for staff and patients during the coronavirus pandemic, and will mean staff are able to safely and quickly move patients from the main hospital to an area able to deliver specialist palliative care.
The Derwent Suite is a separate, self-contained area of the hospital with its own entrance, and has 29 side rooms that provide privacy in addition to access to oxygen. This will allow staff to continue providing the specialist palliative care that patients need, while also providing greater protection against exposure to coronavirus.
MacMillan have stressed that they will continue to do everything in their power to support people in their own homes through their Community Specialist Palliative Care Team, and will be able to to offer direct admission to the Derwent Suite, if necessary.
A significant portion of the service the MacMillan Unit inpatient and community teams provide is funded by the MacMillan Caring Locally fund. For more information, visit their website.