Services in South West Essex

This free service has been commissioned to support adult carers. 

The offer includes:

• One to one information and support to carers 
• Support via phone, text, email or face to face visits including home visits
• Groups and activities for carers
• Help to get Carers Trust grants
• Referrals to carefree breaks
• Free SIM cards

The offer in Southend includes funding for breaks for carers, support to help carers to access their own appointments and one-off respite break funding.

Bliss offers a wide range of free services for the families of premature and sick babies including a video call support service.

The support group is a way to learn more about living with a lung condition and share your experiences and stories with others.

The British Lymphology Society provides a directory of Lymphoedema treatment services.

Use the website address above to find your local services.

The Children’s Community Nursing Team consists of nurses who have specialist training and experience in the care of sick children. We provide a vital link with other professionals to provide holistic care including palliative care to children and their families. We aid in preventing hospital admission and supporting early discharge by teaching and supporting families to manage their child’s condition in their own home.

LymphConnect is an online platform developed to help manage lymphoedema or lipoedema, understand more about the condition, share experiences and get support and advice.

Macmillan provide cancer information, support and help everyone with cancer live life as fully as they can.

Visit the website to get help with paying bills, advice on benefits or treatment, or to just chat.

Marie Curie provide support for patients and carers through terminal illness.

Find information and support through the telephone helpline and online chat via their website.

Other services include Marie Curie nurses, Hospice care, helper and companion services.

Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity supports families who have a child aged 0 to18 years with a life-threatening or terminal illness.

The patient therapies team help with a range of symptoms through groups and individual sessions to help managing pain and symptoms.

The team consistes of:

• Physiotheraphy
• Occupational therapy
• Complementary therapy

Social workers offer a wide variety of support to patients, carers, family and loved ones.

St Luke's Hospice Carer's Support Coordinator will discuss a wide range of practical advice, financial advice, training and emotional support, as well as ways to look after yourself whilst in your carers role.

They also offer a variety of support groups – both virtual (online) and face to face

St Luke's Hospice Clinical Outpatients team offers convenient, accessible and specialist key clinical procedures and palliative care, in a relaxed environment with appointments to meet your wellbeing and lifestyle needs. 

Key clinical procedures offered to outpatients:

• Advance Care Planning clinics
• Ascetic and Pleural drainage
• Blood product transfusions
• Clinical Nurse Specialist symptom management clinic
• CVC line care
• Intravenous fluids
• IV Bisphosphonates infusions
• IV Iron Infusions
• Long term condition clinic – supporting heart failure, renal and liver conditions
• Venepuncture

The service opening hours are 9.00am to 5.00pm.

St Luke's Hospice community service provides assessment, support advice and care for people wishing to be cared  and supported in their locality community setting. The team also provide support in care homes, the hospice's rapid access service and there is the provision of clinical nurse specialists.

St Luke's Hospice Physiotherapy team can help when living with a life limiting illness.  Specialist Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists will listen and assess to support independence and aid mobility to manage symptoms and positively impact quality of life and wellbeing.

Family and loved ones are also supported in their caring roles. Advice, guidance and techniques on how to safely move and handle someone when caring for them can be accessed through conversation with the Physiotherapy team.

The offer includes:

• individual assessments to help provide appropriate equipment, e.g. mobility aids
• personalised treatment plans including non-drug pain relief treatments and exercises to improve mobility, independence and balance
• treatments to assist with shortness of breath, fatigue or insomnia
• group exercise classes and confidence building

Rehabilitative care is also provided by our Occupational Therapy team. 

St Luke's Hospice provides the specialist Lymphoedema care team could provide care to you if you are living with primary Lymphoedema, secondary Lymphoedema and Lipoedema. The team can provide clinical expertise, support and practical help for those with any these conditions and live across South Essex.

lymphoedema only service

This service is for any persons over the age of 18 and supports the management of complex wound care, via clinic based appointments, or homevisits depending on the need of the service user.

Together for Short Lives have a helpline and family support hub to provide help and advice for those caring for a child with a serious illness.

Young lives vs Cancer support young people under 25 with cancer, and their families, to get the help they need during their cancer treatment and beyond, including bereaved families living with emotional distress.