Referral to the Palliative Care Team should be made with the consent of the consultant or doctor with clinical responsibility and with the consent of the patient (except in exceptional circumstances).  Referral should be considered for the following:

• Patients (within an inpatient/outpatient setting) who have active or advanced and progressive disease for whom the prognosis is limited (although it can be several years) and the focus of care is quality of life

AND

One or more of the following needs are unmet:

• Symptom Management: Advice on the management of pain and other symptoms which have not begun to respond to treatment after two days on the inpatient unit or are causing overwhelming distress at any time.
• Psychological/Spiritual Support: Support for patient and carers who appear to be struggling psychologically or emotionally with the illness.
• Social Support: For patients with young children or who have had a recent bereavement or for families where there is a conflict of interests effecting on their coping strategies.
• Hospice Assessment: Assessment for hospice care for specialist symptom control, active rehabilitation, day care or terminal care.
• Assessment for future care: especially when management is unclear.
• Staff Support: in dealing with difficult situations or debriefing following a death.

Referral should be made by telephone to 01274 364035 and recorded along with the reason for referral in the patient's medical notes. The patient will be assessed within two working days of the referral, although urgent requests for advice on symptom control will, if possible, be addressed on the same day.