Waikato DHB Palliative Care Guidelines17. Guidelines for referral to the Palliative Care Service17.1 Referral is appropriate when| As a consequence of advanced/progressive disease, the patient has
symptomatic or other needs (such as those outlined below) that require Specialist Palliative Care input. | |
- The patient has a range of symptoms relating to their illness including pain, nausea, vomiting, dyspnoea, constipation, anxiety, agitation etc that are proving difficult to manage.
- The patient/family/whanau have psychological, social, spiritual or religious concerns related to the illness.
- The patient/family/whanau need support and assistance following a diagnosis of recurrent disease, relapse or change in disease status.
- Staff member(s) require support in order to care effectively for a patient and their family/whanau.
Patients may still be receiving active treatment for their underlying disease process but the Palliative Care team can work alongside this to ensure that both symptomatic management and support is maximised. 17.2 How the Palliative Care Team work- We provide a consultative service to all wards and areas across the Waikato DHB.
- The “team” consists of consultant physicians, specialist palliative care nurses and registrar.
- We will assess the patient promptly and where possible inpatients will be seen on the day of referral.
- We give advice with planning for discharge and liaison with community services.
- We conduct palliative care clinics for both new referrals and follow-ups.
17.3 Making a referralA formal medical referral from the primary team is needed using a yellow consultation request form which must be faxed to 8895. It is important that you discuss the referral with us as well as sending the fax as this assists us with prioritising.We can be contacted during working hours on extension 8691 (Monday to Friday 8am - 4.30pm). The patient must have knowledge of their disease and of the fact that a referral has been made to the Palliative Care Service ( please discuss where concerned). We are happy to discuss any referrals you are unsure about and to give telephone advice if required. Enquiries are always welcome. For problems “after hours”, please contact the specialist on-call. Information last reviewed: June 2009
| Please foward any enquiries about this document to
haggars@waikatodhb.govt.nz | | Next review date: July 2010 | For Palliative Care advice, please call 8691 or the specialist on-call. |
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