Living Well Together is a 7-week programme designed to provide an introduction to palliative care and the services at St. Michael’s Hospice. Our aim throughout this programme is to give you an insight into how to manage the impact of your illness, how to adapt to any changes it may bring and ways in which we can support you to remain as independent as possible, so that you can continue to live as well as possible.
Over the 7 week programme, we cover a range of topics which all link with each other to provide a comprehensive basis to support you as you live every day with your life-limiting illness.
The sessions will be held at the Turner Centre, at St. Michael’s Hospice. These will be formatted in a group setting.
– Tuesday mornings: 10:30am – 12:30pm
– Tuesday afternoons: 2pm – 4pm
It is encouraged that you attend each session, to enable you to have the best understanding and support, however it is not essential.
You will be contacted by the Living Well Service nurse prior to attending the programme, this is to answer any questions or concerns you may have.
The programme is detailed below:
Week 1: ‘Know us, know you’
This first session provides an introduction to our palliative care services – who we are, how we work and how we can help you. This is an opportunity for us to get to know you and talk through concerns you may have as you begin this programme with us.
Week 2: ‘A guide to symptom management’
This is a simple guide to what symptoms are, and what you may expect from them. We will discuss strategies to aid symptoms and the role of medications.
Week 3: ‘Emotional Care’
This session is led by our chaplain and gives space to think about how your illness impacts your life and how our emotions can impact us in a physical and psychological way. We will introduce the role of complementary therapies and how these can bring positive change.
Week 4: ‘Food and Nutrition’
In this session we will focus on the role of nutrition and hydration on physical and mental wellbeing. We will discuss changes that could be made to help any symptoms you may have.
Week 5: ‘Remaining Active’
This is an opportunity to talk through the benefits of physical exercise, despite your limitations. We will include a short, seated exercise session.
Week 6: ‘Looking ahead’
This session will introduce ‘advance care planning’ documentation and we will discuss ways this can help with difficult conversations and decisions about your future. We will help guide you to any benefits you may be entitled to.
Week 7: ‘Wellbeing session and Assessment’
This week will be a chance for us to assess your ongoing needs and plan your ongoing care within the Living Well Service, if it is required.
