Ph: 087-2626431 – Email: palliative.caremull@hse.ie
The North Westmeath Hospice provides specialist palliative care services ensuring that people who are coping with a life threatening illness, death or bereavement can access appropriate homecare and support. Palliative Care is an approach which improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life threatening illnesses, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems physical, psychosocial and spiritual.
Our Location:
Palliative Care is located on the 4th floor (Level E) of the Regional Hospital Mullingar.
Our Services:
The Ciuín Suite consists of two single en-suite patient rooms with an adjacent family room to each.
These beds are available on a 24/7 basis. There are supporting guidelines for the service with regard
to Admission Criteria and Referral Guidelines.
The continuing active total care of patients/clients and their families, at a time when the medical
expectation is no longer cure. Palliative care responds to physical, psychological, social and spiritual
needs, and extends to support in bereavement. The goal of palliative care is the highest possible
quality of life for both patient and family. Palliative care services are structured in three levels of
ascending specialisation. These levels refer to the expertise of the staff providing the service, as
follows:
Level one – Palliative Care Approach: Palliative care principles should be appropriately applied by all
health and social care professionals.
Level two – General Palliative Care: At an intermediate level, a proportion of patients and families
will benefit from the expertise of health and social care professionals who, although not engaged full
time in palliative care, have had some additional training and experience in palliative care.
Level three – Specialist Palliative Care: Specialist palliative care services are those services whose
core activity is limited to the provision of palliative care. Specialist palliative care services are those
services with palliative care as their core speciality and which are provided by an inter-disciplinary
team, which includes a consultant physician in palliative medicine.
Categories of care provided in the Ciuin Suite and indicators of patient suitability for these beds
End of life care
The patient has complex symptoms/care needs which require 24 hour monitoring
The patient is reasonably expected to die within 2 weeks
The patient chooses to die in the unit rather than at home, and/or
The patient’s home situation is such that dying at home could not be supported by
available services
Symptom control
The patient requires close observation and monitoring during adjustment of medications
Poor patient compliance is contributing to lack of symptom control
Carer stress, inability to manage medications or frailty is contributing to poor symptom
control in the home environment
If the patient requires acute hospital treatment such as IV fluids/medications or hospital
investigations other than basic ones such as blood tests, it is inappropriate to use a
community-based intermediate care bed until the situation is stabilised.
Contact us:
Telephone: (044) 9394302 / 9394350 or 087-2626431
If you would like to access the service please contact either your GP or the North Westmeath Hospice Specialist Palliative Care Services, Primary Care Unit, Harbour Street, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.
Ph: 087-2626431 – Email: palliative.caremull@hse.ie
