Films about our services
Welcome to St Peter & St James Hospice
A patient’s introduction to St Peter & St James Hospice
Welcome to Beacon View Wellbeing Centre
An introduction to our Wellbeing Services
An introduction to our Clinical Nurse Specialist Team
An introduction to our Inpatient Unit
Specialist palliative care nurses in the community
We have a team of seven Specialist Palliative Care Nurses who are there to support 200 patients at home, seven days a week. 96% of our patients are supported in their own homes. Our nurses provide advice on symptoms, psychological support to both the patient and their family. They also provide advice and support to NHS community teams, such as your GP and District Nursing Team and other professionals.
Our team of fully-trained community nurses are often confused with Macmillan or Marie Curie nurses. However, we do not receive any funding from Macmillan or Marie Curie and are dependent upon the generosity of our supporters to provide the funds we need to cover the cost of providing our care.
The Big Lottery Fund awarded the Hospice a three-year grant to fund the work of the Clinical Nurse Specialist in Lewes (from October 2013).
Day care
Beacon View Wellbeing Centre is open for patients cared for at home to participate in different activities, including Relaxation, Art Therapy, Craft Activity, Complementary Therapies, Group Physiotherapy amongst others. Following a GP referral, patients are welcomed to come to Beacon View.
Introductory film about Beacon View Wellbeing Centre
See inside Beacon View Wellbeing Centre
We have several volunteers who each day support the Day Hospice Team care for the patients. We encourage patients to arrange their own transport to Beacon View, but for those unable to do so, transport can be arranged either in our Minibus or via Volunteer drivers. Most patients come to Beacon View Wellbeing Centre once a week.
We are currently reviewing our Day Care services to ensure that we provide activities appropriate for a wide range of patients.
Virtual tour of Beacon View Wellbeing Centre
In-patient Unit
We have eight Specialist Palliative Care rooms (Hospice) in the unit. Some people are admitted to an in-patient bed at an early stage of their illness for a short period to control their symptoms (for example, pain, nausea or vomiting). People may also be admitted during the final stages of their illness. Most patients referred to the Hospice have cancer, but we also care for patients with other end stage diagnoses, such as heart failure, renal failure, COPD and many neurological conditions.
In order to ensure that this specialist resource is used appropriately, our Clinical Team meets on a daily basis, so that those patients who are most in need of in-patient care are admitted as soon as possible.
When a person is ready for discharge, we carefully plan this in conjunction with the family and community services to plan a safe transition to their home or alternative place of care.
The average length of stay for a patient in a hospice room is nine days.
All our hospice rooms have recently been upgraded to provide en-suite facilities with many having a pull down bed for a relative to stay overnight, following a discussion with the Clinical Team to determine if this is appropriate.
If relatives are staying, especially if the patient is very ill, we can provide meals for which a price list is available. Meals must be ordered in advance. There is a pub nearby, in Wivelsfield Green, which serves meals and a small local grocery store where a range of items can be purchased.
Visiting times are 11.30am - 8pm. The Sister in Charge will always try to accommodate other times if appropriate.
