Q. What does the Hospice do?
Q. Do you only care for patients with cancer?
Q. What facilities and services does the Martlets offer?
Q. Who provides the Hospice’s services?
Q. Who is the Hospice for?
Q. How does one access the Hospice?
Q. What does it cost to use the Hospice?
Q. How is care funded?
Q. How many patients does the Hospice care for in a year?
Q. How can I help?
Q. What is meant by the term "palliative care?
Q. What is the difference between the Martlets Hospice and the Martlets Care?
Q. What is the hospice's stance on assisted dying?
Q. What does the Hospice do?
A. The Martlets looks after adults who are approaching the end of their lives. This care is aimed at alleviating the distressing symptoms associated with serious illness, as well as providing specialist emotional support for the families and carers through the illness and into bereavement. Typically, patients may be in the last year or less of their illness. They may visit the hospice, or be under the care of the Hospice services several times. Maintaining the best possible quality of life and supporting independence are our chief aims.
Q. Do you only care for patients with cancer?
A. No. Increasingly, we are looking after patients with complex long-term conditions such as heart failure and/or neurological conditions who are near the end of their life. The Hospice at Home in particular has an increasing percentage of such patients.
Q. What facilities and services does the Martlets offer?
A. An 18-bed InPatient Unit; a bereavement and counselling service; and a Hospice at Home service. A respite service is also available.
Q. Who provides the Hospice’s services?
A. A team of Consultants, Doctors, Nurses and allied healthcares professionals, social workers and counselling staff are supported by catering, domestic, administrative and fundraising personnel. Trained volunteers also make a significant contribution to the welfare of patients, their families and to the Hospice's fundraising and retail activities.
Q. Who is the Hospice for?
A. Hospice services are available to all adult members of a community that includes the populations of Portslade, Hove, Brighton, Saltdean, Rottingdean, Peacheaven, Newhaven, inland to Lewes and back along the line of the Downs. Care is provided on the basis of medical need.
Q. How does one access the hospice?
A. Access to the Martlets and Hospice at Home is via medical referral from GPs, District Nurses, members of the Macmillan Community Team or hospital consultants. The Hospice is the base of the Macmillan Community Team (MCT).
Q. What does it cost to use the Hospice?
A. Care is provided to patients free of charge, although all of our patients and their families contribute voluntarily to the cost of their care. As an independent charity, the hospice is largely dependent upon the generosity of the local community to fund the its services.
Q. How is care funded?
A. The Hospice is not part of the NHS and must generate over £4.8 million annually to ensure the continuation of Hospice services. Twenty-nine per cent of this funding is received from local Primary Care Trust. This leaves a balance of £3.4 million to be generated each year from charitable sources.
Q. How many patients does the Hospice care for in a year?
A. In the year ending 31st March 2011, the Martlets InPatient Unit had 233 admissions, the Hospice at Home Team cared for 336 patients.
Q. How can I help?
A. There are many ways in which you can support the Martlets. Please visit the “Get Involved” section of this site to find out how you can support us.
Q. What is meant by the term "Palliative Care"?
A. Palliative Care affirms life and regards dying as a normal process. Care neither hastens nor postpones death. Palliative Care provides relief from pain and other distressing symptons. It integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care and offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death. Palliative Care also offers a support system to help the family to cope during the patient's illness and in their own bereavement.
Q. What's the difference between the Martlets Hospice and the Martlets Care
A. The Martlets Hospice cares for adults who are approaching the end of their life, as a registered charity there is no charge for this service. Martlets Care Agency is a private care agency, offering expert nursing and personal care to meet the needs of Clients at home. All profits from the Martlets Care Agency go to the Martlets Hospice.
Q. What is the Hospice's stance on assisted dying?
A. Assisted dying is a complex subject that raises challenging ethical questions for hospice care. The Martlets Hospice recognises that across society there is a range of different views, and respects the right of everyone to take an individual position. At the Martlets, we help patients to live life as well as they can in the time they have left. We do not support the practice of assisted dying; we believe that life is precious - indeed our very reason for being is to care for patients at the end of life and to make the end of their life a positive and dignified experience.