Community and hospital care

The Rowans Hospice works in partnership with Solent Healthcare (Portsmouth City); Hampshire Community Health Care and Portsmouth Hospitals Trust to provide care at home, in hospitals and in nursing homes. When specialist palliative care (SPC) is needed, we work alongside a patient’s GP and District Nurses to provide support and clinical expertise. 

Community care teams

The NHS SPC teams comprise doctors, clinical nurse specialists (CNS), clinical psychologists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists with wide-ranging expertise in dealing with the medical, practical and psychological effects of cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. They visit patients at home, in residential homes and in community hospitals to discuss treatment options. The CNSs are sometimes known to patients as Macmillan nurses.

First contact with The Rowans Hospice often begins with a visit from one of the SPC team. They liaise with GPs, District Nurses and other professionals who are already involved with the patient. As well as providing expert care in the home they offer practical and emotional support to the whole family. A home visit from the nurse can be most reassuring and comforting for patients and those around them. 

Hospital care team

Doctors and CNS nurses in this team are based at the hospice but work at Queen Alexandra Hospital. They care for patients experiencing difficulties at all stages of their illness, including those who have been newly diagnosed. Like the community team, the hospital team is highly skilled in providing relief from pain and the physical symptoms of life-limiting illness.

The community and hospital care teams provide essential services which include:

• Assessment and advice on the management of patient symptoms
• Emotional support in dealing with anxieties and fears related to illness and treatment
• Assessment for access to support from The Rowans Hospice, including Day Care, in-patient care, The Heath Centre and Bereavement Services
• Telephone advice for families and the patients existing healthcare team
• Information and guidance on allowances and grants available

For more information go to Community and Hospital Care FAQs

To contact the Community Team for Portsmouth City call 023 9238 6257 or fax 92386523. This team is employed and managed by Solent Healthcare and has its office base at Jubilee House, Cosham.

To contact the Community Team for the southeast Hampshire area call The Rowans Hospice 023 9225 0001 or fax 023 9238 6523. This team is employed and managed by Hampshire Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

To contact the Hospital Team for the Queen Alexandra Hospital call The Rowans Hospice 023 9225 0001 or fax 023 9225 5775. This team is employed and managed by Hampshire Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

View FAQs for this page.