Butterwick Hospice at Bishop Auckland has launched an additional service, in the Teesdale area, for patients specifically with a progressive neurological disorder.
The new service at the Richardson Hospital in Barnard Castle operates every Friday and provides care and support to patients suffering from neurological illnesses.
Butterwick Hospice in Bishop Auckland currently provides a wide range of services for patients across County Durham including three separate Outreach Day Hospice services : currently one day a week (increasing to two) at the Richardson Hospital in Barnard Castle, and one day a week at both the Weardale Community Hospital in Stanhope and the Sedgefield Community Hospital. These ‘Outreach Day Hospices’ are additional to the services provided within the Hospice in Bishop Auckland and specifically focused on those living in the rural areas thus bringing Hospice care closer to the communities that need it.
The new service is being funded jointly by the Hospice and the Richardson Trust with the support of the County Durham PCT.
Currently the occurrence of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in Teesdale and Weardale is twice the national average. Butterwick has for some time been providing a mobile aromatherapy service to MS patients and their carers. This is jointly funded by Butterwick Hospice and the MS Society branches of Stanhope and Darlington.
The mobile service provides a Hospice aromatherapy practitioner who visits patients’ homes and teaches the relative or carer to administer the aromatherapy massage over a six week period. This service empowers the patient’s carer to use positive and pleasant techniques in symptom management and for the patient it alleviates their symptoms and provides continuity of care.
Butterwick Hospice aromatherapy practitioners are all qualified in the use of complementary therapies for patients with life limiting illnesses. They are an integral part of the multidisciplinary teams or professionals in the Hospice and can refer patients to other members of the team for extra services.
For more information about the new service contact Paula Wood, Registered Manager, Butterwick Hospice at Bishop Auckland, Woodhouse Lane, Bishop Auckland DL14 6JU Tel: 01388 603003 or email paulawood@butterwick.org.uk
