We are a charity providing free care and support to adults in our community who have a life-limiting illness and their families.
Many people think that hospices are all about dying. But through our many different services, we support people to live as well as they can with their illness. From the moment of diagnosis through to bereavement support.
Wherever possible, we believe in giving people control over the care and treatment they receive, including where they would like to be cared for. To this end we offer a Hospice at Home service for those who would prefer to receive Hospice care within the comfort of their own home, surrounded by family, friends and often beloved pets.
Hospice Care at Home is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with a combination of planned and responsive visits. This provides nursing care that is at the same level to that experienced by patients who are admitted to Rowans Hospice in-patient unit.
Referral to Hospice at Home can be made by any Health/Social Care professional following consent of the patient and family. In some areas of Portsmouth and South East Hampshire this ‘at home’ care provision is also available from other service providers.
The Rowans Living Well Centre is located next door to the main Hospice building. The Living Well Services are available to people in Portsmouth and South-East Hampshire who are living with a life-limiting and progressive illness, as well as their families and friends; this includes carers. Services include one to one and group support with over 35 programmed therapeutic activities every week. Activities include creative writing, cookery, gardening, support groups and complementary therapies.
You do not require a referral to use the Living Well Services, however we do recommend you telephone to arrange an appointment.
To see the full list of services, visit our Living Well Services page.
Hospice care is an integrated service which works closely and in partnership with local NHS services within the community, in hospital and in residential and nursing care homes. When specialist end of life care is needed, we will work in partnership with your GP or District Nurses to provide support and clinical expertise.
The Community NHS Specialist Palliative Care teams have wide-ranging expertise to help with the medical, practical and psychological effects of living with a life-limiting illness, and also offer emotional and practical support to the whole family. This team includes:
Your first contact with Rowans Hospice is often through a visit from one of the NHS team.
We also work closely with Portsmouth Hospital University Trust and aim to ensure that patients move between hospital and Hospice as smoothly as possible.
We treat each person as a unique individual and provide a holistic model of Hospice care, that addresses physical, psychological, spiritual and social needs. Care also extends to friends and family members throughout illness and into bereavement.
Upon arrival or before admission, a patient is assessed by a doctor and a nurse to identify their care needs and ‘What matters to them”. During the patient’s stay, every patient’s care will be allocated to one team of nurses to ensure continuity of care and enable the patient and their family to become familiar with a smaller number of staff.
Many people incorrectly view the In-Patient Unit as somewhere where people just go to die. While some of our patients do spend their final days on the Unit, we also offer pain relief and symptom management to maintain and where possible improve their quality of life.
Patients may also stay with us for acute carer relief. Please see our document on how to plan for your stay with us.
At Rowans Hospice, patients can rest in a comfortable setting with the security of having specialists caring for them. Each patient has their own room with en-suite facilities. Tranquil gardens and courtyards surround the building while seating areas and the cafe provide places where people can meet others and enjoy time in an informal setting.
A referral to the In-Patient Unit must be made by a Healthcare Professional. The referral might come from your GP, Hospital Consultant, District Nurse or any other professional involved in your care; and one of our team will generally visit to make an assessment, explain what is available to you; you can then agree on appropriate goals for you and your family to achieve from the stay. For Healthcare Professionals seeking further information and guidance on making referrals, you can find our guidelines and procedures in the Professionals section of the website.
Living with a life-limiting illness, or coping with grief, can be overwhelming.
As part of Hospice care, we provide professional psychological support to all patients and families if needed. Bereavement support is offered to family members, friends and carers of patients who have been referred to both Rowans Hospice services and NHS Community Palliative Care Services.
There is a team of Clinical Psychologists, Psychotherapists, and Counsellors based at the Hospice who are highly skilled and compassionate professionals who will listen to you and give you a safe place to talk openly about your thoughts and feelings.
To be referred, an initial assessment and support are provided through the Rowans Living Well Services.
For those up to the age of 18 the Meerkat service, provides therapeutic support to children when they are bereaved or have a family member receiving care through the Hospice. Sometimes it can be difficult for family members to provide this support to children and young people and especially if they are grieving too. This service provides an outlet where children can talk about their feelings and provide advice and information to families as to how best to support children and young adults.
Whether in our Living Well Services, our Hospice or at home, we maintain the highest professional standards so that our care is the very best it can be.
At the heart of everything we do is compassion – because we understand that kindness and understanding make the biggest difference of all.
Many people are very surprised when they find out that we are a charity because all of our care is delivered free. 90% of our income is generated by legacies, donations, fundraising and our retail shops.
We know that it is only possible to provide the support and care that we do through the ongoing support of you: our local community.
A list of our Senior Management Team, Patrons and Trustees
The quality of our care is very important to us and therefore we make every effort to ensure our services meet the expectations of those whom we serve.
Please find the Annual Report and Accounts for Rowans Hospice on these pages detailing the year's charitable activities and expenditure.
Under the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017, the Hospice is required to carry out Gender Pay Reporting on an annual basis.
You can read our latest report by clicking on the link below.
Rowans Hospice Gender Pay Gap Report April 2024
The five-year Strategy for the period 2022–2027 sets out the Hospice’s future vision and our intention to maintain our current breadth of services.
You can read our latest report by clicking on the link below.
Rowans Hospice Strategy
