St Luke’s community team, providing care at home
Our Community Team delivers specialist palliative care at home or in outpatient settings, supporting patients throughout their illness so they can have the best possible quality of life, relief from symptoms, and flexible choices for end of life care.
About St Luke’s – Sheffield’s Hospice
At St Luke’s, we care for adults in Sheffield who are affected by a terminal illness, and for their loved ones too. Some patients stay on our In Patient Centre for short or long-term symptom management or end of life care, while others are seen at home or as an outpatient for support with pain relief, mobility, falls prevention, counselling, and in some cases, help to die at home, if that’s what the patient wants.
Alongside clinical care, our patients can access a wide range of non-medical support at the Hospice and our Social Prescribing site, including physical, wellbeing and creative therapies, social work, and psychological, emotional and spiritual care. Families and carers can also receive support through our tailored social, spiritual and bereavement services.
Our palliative care at home
Our Community Team brings specialist knowledge and expertise into the community, so people living with advanced and complex illness can receive care, comfort and companionship in the comfort of their home. Our palliative care nurse specialists are here to:
Provide advice on managing physical symptoms caused by your illness and/or treatment.
Offer someone to talk to about your illness and how it’s affecting you and those closest to you.
Help you plan for the future and prepare for possible changes or emergencies in your health.
Support your choice to stay at home in the last days of life, ensuring coordinated care and comfort.
Work alongside your GP and community district nurses / therapists, offering advice and education to support your care.
Extend support, guidance and reassurance to your family and friends during this most difficult time.
We work every day of the year (9am – 5pm, Monday to Sunday, including Bank Holidays).
How it works
After you’re referred for support in your home, our triage team will contact you by telephone. We’ll talk through your needs and agree the most appropriate next steps. This often includes arranging a home visit, but it may also involve inviting you to attend a clinic or session delivered by our social prescribing service at our hospice site in Sheffield.
Being referred to St Luke’s does not always mean death is imminent. Our palliative care specialists and wider, integrated community team focus on helping you live as well as possible with controlled symptoms. As time goes on and your condition changes, we have a unique and privileged position to speak with you about dying.
Access our carePatients are referred to St Luke’s Community Team for home hospice care at various stages of their illness by a healthcare professional. Some people are referred soon after diagnosis, while others are referred during treatment or as needs change.
People are usually referred because they need:
Expert advice on managing pain and symptoms during illness and/or treatment
Emotional, psychological, social and spiritual support for you or your loved ones
Help with Advance Care Planning, including what should happen if you become more unwell
After being referred for palliative care at home, you’ll usually see one of our palliative care specialists face-to-face or remotely and as often as required.
Depending on your needs, you may also meet assistant practitioners, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, wellbeing practitioners, social workers or chaplains.
Our team includes a consultant and specialist registrar in palliative care medicine, and you may also meet doctors who are part of our supervised training programme.
Our teams see patients as often as their clinical needs require. This may be daily, weekly, monthly or less frequently. We offer face-to-face visits, as well as phone and video support where appropriate.
If your symptoms improve and your condition stabilises, we may discharge you from our service, with the option to refer you again in the future – whether that’s for care at home or our In Patient Centre.
Extra support for our patients
Alongside our palliative care at home, we offer the following services to patients known to St Luke’s. If you’d like to access them, please speak to your St Luke’s healthcare provider, who can arrange a referral for you.
Bathing service
As someone becomes less well, bathing or showering at home can become more difficult and unsafe. We recognise that maintaining personal hygiene and appearance is an important part of health, wellbeing and quality of life. Our bathing service allows patients to enjoy a relaxing spa bath in our spa room, with friendly staff on hand to assist as much or as little as needed.
Food parcel service
Our Specialist Palliative Care Community Team offers a weekly food parcel service to patients we care for at home across Sheffield who may need extra support. Parcels might include homemade smoothies, soups, fresh fruit, bread, fruit juices, cake traybakes and more. They can be a valuable resource for people with swallowing difficulties, nutritional concerns, or who can’t get to the shops.
Other ways St Luke’s is here for you
Wellbeing and social prescribing
Take part in a range of non-clinical activities to help you and your loved ones stay connected, supported and engaged during this time of change and uncertainty.
Eligibility: For patients, loved ones and carers
Social prescribing servicesIn Patient Centre
Receive specialist palliative or end of life care at our Hospice in Sheffield. Our teams are here for you and your loved ones as you navigate advanced or complex illness.
Eligibility: For patients
Care at the In Patient CentrePalliative counselling
Talk openly and be heard without judgement. We’re here to support and advise, and above all to listen, following the diagnosis of a palliative condition.
Eligibility: For patients
Palliative CounsellingTherapies and treatments
Work towards goals that matter to you with our professional therapies and treatments including hairdressing and aromatherapy. Regain confidence and a sense of control.
Eligibility: For patients
Therapies and treatmentsSpiritual care
Access specialist pastoral and spiritual care for you and your loved ones. Whatever your beliefs, we’re here to support your spiritual needs through illness or loss.
Eligibility: For patients, loved ones and carers
Spiritual care servicesArt therapy
Explore creative self-expression with St Luke’s art therapy. Use colour, shape and symbolism to express thoughts and feelings that are hard to put into words.
Eligibility: For patients, loved ones and carers
Art therapy servicesBereavement services
Self-refer for St Luke’s bereavement counselling service – open to families, friends and carers after the loss of a loved one in our care.
Eligibility: For patients, loved ones and carers
Bereavement servicesAdvance care planning
Get guidance on advance care planning. Talk through your wishes for end of life care and help those supporting you feel confident they’re following your choices.
Eligibility: For patients
Compassionate SheffieldWhat we don’t do
We want to be clear about what our palliative care at home service includes. While we don’t provide hands-on care, we can always guide patients to the right local services for the support they need.
Our Specialist Palliative Care Community Team does not provide hands-on physical care for patients at home, such as washing, dressing or moving and handling. These services are usually provided by Sheffield City Council Social Care or community district nurses.
We do not provide overnight sitting as part of our home hospice care. The NHS Palliative Care Support at Home Service (previously Intensive Home Nursing Service) provides overnight support following an assessment by the St Luke’s team or community district nurses.
Our palliative care specialists focus on symptom control, comfort and quality of life. If you need specialist reviews for conditions such as diabetes, dietetics or continence care, please contact the relevant specialist nursing team through the Single Point of Access (see contact details on this page).
Your GP surgery remains your main point of contact for repeat prescriptions, routine medical reviews and general health concerns. We work alongside your GP as part of your wider end of life care services at home.
Contacts for St Luke’s palliative care at home
Our Specialist Palliative Care Community Team can be contacted 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
For patients and family members receiving care from the St Luke’s Community Team, our 24-hour telephone helpline provides friendly advice and support from experienced professionals, including registered nurses.
We can guide you on managing symptoms such as pain, sickness or restlessness, reassure carers who are worried about medicines or care, and signpost you to other St Luke’s services, including therapies, wellbeing or counselling.
The service, delivered by St Luke’s, is designed to help people receive the right care at home, reducing avoidable admissions and providing reassurance during the most difficult time.
Those accessing the helpline have access to a team of experienced healthcare professionals, who can provide friendly advice, and offer guidance on managing symptoms such as pain, breathlessness, agitation and nausea.
Carers can also access advice about medication and care concerns, meaning they have access to a reassuring voice in the middle of the night.
If you’re not currently known to our team, we’re unable to offer support through this line, and you should call NHS 111 instead.
We use voicemail, so if we can’t answer straight away, please leave your name, phone number and a brief message, and we will call you back as soon as possible. This is exclusively for healthcare professionals, not patients and families.
Out of hours GP: 111
Single Point of Access (SPA) for Community District Nurses: 0114 226 6578
Weston Park Hospital: 0114 226 5300
Palliative Care Centre at Northern General Hospital: 0114 271 6010
Download St Luke's list of trusted internet resources for more information, advice and support
Become a patient at St Luke’s
To access our care, you will need a referral from a healthcare professional and a diagnosis of a life limiting illness with no known cure. Once you’re under the care of St Luke’s, whether at our In Patient Centre, home or another setting, you can access a range of support and services available to you and those close to you.
Please help St Luke’s continue our care for the people of Sheffield.
FAQs about palliative care at home
Yes, many people choose to receive end of life care services at home. With the right support from services such as St Luke’s, community district nurses / therapists and GPs, people can remain in their own home or care home if that’s their wish. Our team works closely with other health and social care professionals to help ensure comfort, dignity and coordinated care at home.
St Luke’s provides specialist palliative care at home for adults in Sheffield living with a life limiting illness, at any stage of their journey. Our palliative care nurse specialists offer face-to-face and remote advice on how to manage symptoms, emotional support, and help planning for the future, including help to die at home, if that’s what they want.
If symptoms become more complex over time, patients may come into our In Patient Centre for short- or longer-term symptom management, then return home once their condition stabilises. This flexibility allows patients to move between home and hospice care based on their needs and wishes.
Our end of life care services at home are provided at no cost to our patients and their families. However, NHS funding covers only a small portion of what it costs to run our services each year. We rely on the generosity of our community, including people who fundraise, donate, volunteer and shop with us, to help us continue providing care.