Becoming or referring a patient to St Luke’s
To access our clinical care, patients must be over 18, need a referral from a healthcare professional and a diagnosis of a progressive illness with no known cure. If you feel your patient would benefit from our services, you can make a referral here.
To access our other support services, including counselling services, as a patient or loved one of a patient, you can complete a self-referral form. See information for patients, relatives and carers on this page.
Access our care – Information for healthcare professionals
If you’re a healthcare professional and feel your patient may benefit from St Luke’s Hospice services, you will need to make a referral to us. Depending on the patient's condition, we may be caring for them in one of three ways:
As a day patient attending our social prescribing services in Sheffield
At home or as an outpatient under the care of our Specialist Palliative Care Community Team
As an inpatient at our main hospice site in Sheffield
Patients might also move between these types of care, sometimes more than once, depending on their needs and how their illness progresses.
How the referral process works at St Luke’s
Note: This information is for healthcare professionals.
1. Complete the relevant referral form
We accept referrals from healthcare professionals for patients across Sheffield who need specialist palliative care and support. See below for information on how to refer to our hospice care, including referral forms.
2. St Luke’s team will review your referral
Once we’ve received your referral, we may contact you, as the referrer, to get more information if required. Please ensure your contact details are up to date to avoid any delays. See below for our referral wait times.
3.In Patient Centre referrals go to the Daily Referral Meeting
All In Patient Centre referrals, go to a daily referral meeting to be reviewed by the Multi-Discipliniary Team (MDT).
4. We’ll contact the patient or next of kin about next steps
If your referral meets our criteria, we’ll then contact the patient or their next of kin to discuss the patient’s needs and if they have any concerns we can help with. We may also signpost or refer to other services.
Make a referral to St Luke’s
To make a referral, please read the referral criteria below and complete the relevant referral form. On the form, tick the relevant service you wish to refer someone to (Social Prescribing, Specialist Community Team / Outpatient, or In Patient Centre).
Email the completed form to SLHOS.clinicaladministration@nhs.net. Please note that any incomplete forms may result in a delay.
Please read the following information carefully to ensure the patient you’re referring is eligible for our services, as well as to support you in deciding when to refer and which team is most appropriate. You must also check that the patient has consented to the referral and to the sharing of their clinical records with St Luke's.
The information here is for healthcare professionals. If you are a patient, relative or carer, this button will take you to the right information about accessing our care.
In Patient Centre
Referral criteria and how to refer
Our In Patient Centre accepts referrals for patients who:
Require specialist palliative care admission for symptom control
Are in the last days of life and whose preferred place of death is St Luke’s Hospice
Are over the age of 18
At our In Patient Centre, patients are cared for by a multidisciplinary team:
Specialist palliative care nurses (including nurse consultants, clinical nurse specialists, advanced clinical practitioners and nurse associates)
Healthcare assistants
Healthcare Support Team (including nurses, healthcare assistants, assistant practitioners)
Consultant-led medical teams
Specialist pharmacists
Social workers
Physiotherapists
Occupational therapists
Complementary therapists
Chaplains
Art therapists
Counsellors
Clinical psychologists
Inclusion criteria:
Patient is 18 years old or above.
Patient is registered with a Sheffield GP practice.
Patient has given consent for referral, or a referral has been made following a best interest decision.
Diagnosis of a life-limiting illness (such as a cancer diagnosis and/or non-cancer diagnoses, such as heart, respiratory, renal and liver failure, and neurological diagnoses like motor neurone disease).
Complex symptoms associated with that diagnosis, including physical, emotional and/or psychosocial issues that cannot be managed by the team currently responsible for care (this may include disease-specific team and/or the primary care team). This can include severe or uncontrolled symptoms, such as pain, nausea, breathlessness, functional decline and psychological distress.
Last days of life with complex needs or rapid deterioration, causing distress to the patient and/or their family, where the patient’s preferred place of death is a hospice.
Exclusion criteria:
Patients who are unaware of their diagnosis or prognosis.
Patients with chronic stable disease or disability, with a life expectancy of several years.
Patients with chronic pain problems, such as arthritis, that are not associated with progressive terminal disease.
Patients who decline referral or are unaware of it being made.
Patients whose problems are primarily psychological and need a referral for specialist psychiatric support / treatment.
Those requiring respite or a long-term social care placement.
We hold a referral meeting every day to review new referrals and patients on the waiting list. Patients are triaged according to clinical need, not length of time waiting. If a patient’s condition changes, the referrer must contact us with an update by calling St Luke’s Hospice and asking to speak to the ward clerk at the In Patient Centre. Due to demand, there may be a wait for admission.
We process referrals and admit patients 7 days a week. If a patient requires urgent same-day admission, please call 0114 235 7663 and ask to speak to the Community Coordinating Nurse.
We understand that some patients may have specialist needs that do not fall within the categories listed. If you are unsure, we welcome a phone call to discuss their situation and how we can best support them. Please call 0114 236 9911 and ask to speak to the Senior Clinician in the relevant area.
You can refer to hospice care at St Luke’s In Patient Centre by completing the form below and emailing it to SLHOS.clinicaladministration@nhs.net. Please note that any incomplete forms may result in a delay.
Once St Luke’s has received your referral, we may contact you, as the referrer, for additional information if required. Please ensure your contact details are up to date to avoid any delays.
St Luke’s care at home
Referral criteria and how to refer
Our Specialist Palliative Care Community Team provides specialist advice, treatment and support for patients with a terminal or life-limiting illness. Care may be provided at home with our visiting team, in a care home (via our ECHO team), or at our Little Common Lane site in our outpatient services, depending on individual needs.
We visit 7 days a week, working closely with primary care and community services. We provide advice on end of life care and management, and support wider community teams when a patient’s preferred place of care and death is home. Our team does not take over care, but offers specialist support over several visits until the current concern or symptom is stable.
Once a patient is more stable, we aim to support them to access our social prescribing services. This enables us to help a greater number of patients across the city. Patients and families who are known to our Community Team can contact us again if their situation changes.
St Luke’s Specialist Palliative Care Community Team is multidisciplinary:
Specialist palliative care nurses (including nurse consultants, clinical nurse specialists and advanced clinical practitioners)
Specialist palliative care nurses (including nurse consultants, clinical nurse specialists, advanced clinical practitioners and nurse associates)
Healthcare support team (which includes Nurses and Assistant practitioners)
Consultant-led medical teams
Physiotherapists
Occupational therapists
Complementary therapists
Chaplains
Art therapists
Counsellors
Clinical psychologists
Social workers
Referrals for care at home or outpatient services are triaged as urgent or routine. Please provide as much detail as possible to help us assess appropriately:
Has a ReSPECT conversation and plan taken place?
Has CPR been discussed?
Does the patient want escalation to hospital if they become unwell?
Is a Pink Card and pre-emptive medication available in the home?
Is the patient receiving cancer treatment, either with palliative or curative intent?
Is there a legal proxy or lasting power of attorney for the patient?
Criteria for urgent referrals
Patient is actively dying or likely to die within the next 2 weeks.
High risk of palliative care emergency, such as catastrophic bleed, seizures, bowel obstruction, spinal cord compression or airway obstruction.
Complex psychosocial issues.
Rapidly changing or escalating symptoms.
For urgent referrals, we aim to contact within 24-48 hours, but patients can be seen by a member of the Community Care Team on the same day if necessary. For same-day reviews, please call the Community Coordinating Nurse and send a referral form.
Criteria for routine referrals
Patient has a prognosis of several weeks to months.
Symptoms are more stable but require monitoring and support.
For routine referrals, we aim to contact within 3-5 days and book the first assessment within 2-3 weeks.
We understand that some patients may have specialist needs that do not fall within the categories listed. If you are unsure, we welcome a phone call to discuss their situation and how we can best support them. Please call 0114 236 9911 and ask to speak to the Senior Clinician in the relevant area.
You can refer a patient for hospice care at home by completing the form below and emailing it to SLHOS.clinicaladministration@nhs.net. Please note that any incomplete forms may result in a delay.
Once we receive your referral, we may contact you, as the referrer, for additional information if required. Please ensure your contact details are up to date to avoid any delays.
All urgent and routine referrals are processed 7 days a week. We may decline referrals that do not meet our criteria or reassign the level of urgency based on individual clinical need.
If the patient is imminently dying, please ensure a ReSPECT plan, Pink Card and anticipatory (pre-emptive) medications are in place, which can all be arranged by their GP.
Social prescribing – Referral criteria and how to refer
Patients, relatives and carers can access social prescribing services at St Luke’s with or without a referral from a healthcare professional. Visit our Wellbeing and Social Prescribing Services page to learn more and complete a self-referral form.
Healthcare professionals can contact St Luke’s at SLHOS.clinicaladministration@nhs.net.
Alternatively, call our Healthcare Professional Helpline on 0114 235 7663 or our Wellbeing and Social Prescribing Helpline on 0114 235 7494.
Other useful material for healthcare professionals
At St Luke’s, we provide specialist palliative care to people in Sheffield with advanced, progressive illnesses, supporting emotional, spiritual and practical needs as well as physical symptoms. We aim to help patients live as normally as possible, for as long as possible.
After referral from a healthcare professional, we tailor care to each patient’s individual needs. Support might include:
Specialist palliative or end of life care at home, our In Patient Centre, or in another setting.
Help with Advance Care Planning, including the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care & Treatment (ReSPECT).
Day care for patients, family, friends and carers through social prescribing services at our site in Sheffield.
Personalised programmes of therapies, treatments and activities, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and wellbeing therapies.
Palliative counselling, art therapy, social work support, and spiritual care – whatever faith you are from, and if you’re of no faith at all.
Bereavement counselling for relatives, carers and children aged 5-16, following the loss of a loved one in our care.
Our Nurses are experienced in all aspects of discharge planning. They work closely with patients, families and colleagues at St Luke’s to ensure transitions between services are as smooth as possible.
When a patient is ready to leave St Luke’s, the team makes sure everyone involved in their care is informed and clear about the next steps. They ensure patient needs are understood and that plans are in place before discharge.
The team also assists with the completion of any relevant assessments for ongoing care. They help patients, families and carers access the right services and support within the community following discharge.
Most patients live at home, and many are looked after entirely at home throughout their illness.
Some patients receive care at home on and off for many years; our team dips out of the picture if the patient is managing well and their symptoms are under control.
Most day patients accessing our social prescribing services continue visits for 8-12 weeks.
Many people stay with us as inpatients for a short time to manage specific symptoms, then return home or attend as day patients.
Some patients are admitted as an inpatient more than once during their illness.
Around a third of patients admitted to our In Patient Centre are discharged after their initial treatment. The average inpatient stay before returning home is 16 days.
Access our care – Information for patients, relatives and carers
To be referred to St Luke's, you need to have been diagnosed with a progressive illness for which there is no known cure.
While we can’t cure you, we can help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible through specialist medical and nursing care, advice and support – whenever and however you need it. Many patients live for a significant time following their referral to us.
Once referred, there are several ways to access our services. Initially, we will recommend the option that best meets your needs at the time, but you can move between levels of care and support should your needs change.
St Luke’s care at home
Our Community Team works with GPs and community district nurses / therapists to provide specialist palliative care and support in the comfort of your own home or care home.
Referral by a healthcare professional is needed.
In Patient Centre
Our In Patient Centre in Sheffield is for people who are extremely ill or whose symptoms require 24-hour monitoring and intensive specialist palliative and end of life care.
Referral by a healthcare professional is needed.
Wellbeing and social prescribing
Our Social Prescribing site in Sheffield offers non-medical activities and groups, helping patients and their loved ones stay connected, supported and engaged during this time of change and uncertainty.
You can self-refer for this service.
If you’re living with a palliative condition, or you care for someone who is, and would like more information about accessing our care, please call us on 0114 236 9911.
FAQs about referrals to St Luke’s for hospice care
To access hospice care at St Luke’s, you need a referral from a healthcare professional, such as your GP, District nurse, hospital doctor or specialist nurse. If you are unsure how to access hospice care, speak to a professional involved in your care and ask them to refer to hospice on your behalf. Our team will then review the referral and contact you to discuss next steps.
St Luke’s provides specialist palliative care in three main ways: in our In Patient Centre, at home or as an outpatient through our Community Team, and via our social prescribing services. This may include pain and symptom management, end of life care, wellbeing therapies, physiotherapy, counselling, spiritual care and social work support. Care is always tailored to individual needs, and patients may move between services as their situation changes.
Our palliative and end of life care is provided at no cost to our patients and their families. We are a charity and rely on a combination of NHS funding, fundraising, donations, retail and gifts in Wills to continue our work. Like many hospices, we face ongoing funding pressures, and community support plays an important role in helping us provide care.
We care for adults (18+) in Sheffield who are living with a progressive illness that has no known cure and is at an advanced stage. Referrals must meet our clinical criteria and be made by a healthcare professional, with patient consent.
If a situation is complex or urgent, professionals should call 0114 235 7663 and ask to speak to the Community Coordinating Nurse.
St Luke’s main hospice site is at Little Common Lane, Sheffield, S11 9NE. There is free parking on site, and clear signage will guide you to Reception when you arrive.
Our Social Prescribing site is located near the Hospice on Ecclesall Road South, Sheffield, S11 9PX. It has its own entrance and dedicated car park.