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Palliative Care

Contact Number Jennifer McDonald – Team Secretary. Tel: 01 414 2032

Palliative Care is care focussed on reducing and relieving the symptoms of advanced, progressive illnesses. These include illnesses like cancer, advanced heart, kidney or lung disease and neurological diseases such as motor neurone disease.

The aim of Palliative Care is to obtain the best possible quality of life for patients and their families or carers until the end of life. Palliative Care is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided together with a curative treatment.

Palliative Care Team

The team is made up of Consultant Stephen Higgins, Registrar Katrina Vandamme, Clinical Nurse specialists Siobhan Sheehan and Marie Sheppard and Secretary Jennifer McDonald.

We work closely with other teams and professional in the hospital e.g. Social workers, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and Pastoral Care

What Do The Team Do?

The team works with a patients Consultant led team. Following a referral from your consultant, a member of the palliative care team will meet with you, review your medical condition, any symptoms you may have, how you are coping and deal with questions and concerns.

Their aim is to improve your quality of life and wellbeing by:

  • Giving advice and helping you deal with symptoms you may have for example; feeling sick, being short of breath and pain 
  • Supporting you and your family in dealing with your illness
  • Helping you to plan your discharge from hospital and talking with your GP and public health nurse
  • Providing a link to other specialist Palliative Care Services when discharged from hospital 

Referral to The Team

This service is booked via the hospital’s medical teams the Palliative Care Team is available Monday to Friday 8am-5pm.

Out of normal working hours, the ward doctors and nurses are advised by an on-call palliative care doctor. If advice is required out of hours the Palliative Medicine Consultant maybe contacted through Our Lady’s Hospice at 01 406 8700.