Angus Health and Social Care Partnership are committed to delivering the best palliative and end of life care and support we can. Our Adult Palliative & End of Life Care Plan reflects some of what is already delivered and underway in Angus and helps us to concentrate on areas we need to develop further. An evolving and collaborative Action Plan is being developed that describes how and when the improvements linked to the themes in the plan will be delivered and how we will know that this the plan has made a difference.
What is palliative and end of life care?
Palliative care includes, but is not limited to, end of life care.
It is care that enables people to live and die well.
Care and support focuses on improving quality of life and providing timely and effective responses to physical, emotional, social and spiritual concerns, working with families, communities and carers as equal partners in care.
Some people live with an illness that cannot be cured for many years and some people only become very unwell in the last months or weeks of their life.
Knowing when someone is nearing the end of their life can be difficult. Illness can be unpredictable and sometimes we cannot be certain about how long the person will live.
Local services and information
These are some of the Health and Social Care professionals who can provide advice, care and guidance:
GP (General Practitioner)
Your GP looks after your medical needs but also oversees the wider aspects of your care, be they emotional, social or spiritual.
For these aspects to be addressed as best as possible your GP meets on a weekly basis with a multi disciplinary team.
This team may include:
- Carers
- Community Nurses
- Macmillan Nurses
- Occupational Therapists
- Physiotherapists
- Peer Support Workers
- Social Prescribers
- Social Services
- Volunteers from the listening service
This allows for more extensive support or help with specific issues.
If you are not registered with a GP please access this link with instructions on how to register with a GP practice: https://www.nhsinform.scot/care-support-and-rights/nhs-services/doctors/registering-with-a-gp-practice
Community Nursing Service
The Community nursing service is based across the Angus area and may be located within your own GP practice.
The service provides care to people in their own home or residential care setting.
They will work closely with you, your family and other health and social care professionals to ensure your care needs are met at home rather than in hospital.
To contact a community nurse please telephone your own GP practice.
Personal Care at Home
Free personal care is available for people living at home, regardless of income or capital assets.
The person’s personal care needs are assessed by a social work team.
Personal care includes help with a variety of tasks such as:
- Bathing
- Personal hygiene
- Dressing
- Getting in and out of bed
- Continence management
- Assistance with eating, special diets and food preparation
You will still need to pay for some of the services you receive such as community alarm and meals.
See our help to live at home pages for details about these and other services.
To find out if you are eligible to receive free personal care you can request an assessment by us. Call ACCESSLine on 03452 777 778.
If you receive free personal care, your entitlement to claim Attendance Allowance or Personal Independence Payment (PIP)/ Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will not be affected.
Angus Specialist Palliative Care Teams
Specialist palliative care professionals can work with your doctor, nurses and care givers to help provide you with high quality care and support.
Specialist palliative care services available to people in Angus include:
- Angus Palliative Day Care – including Arbroath, Forfar and Stracathro day services. A carers group is held in Arbroath on Monday afternoons.
(Due to COVID-19 restrictions, face to face day care services have been postponed). - Symptom Control Virtual Clinics.
- Community Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialists.
Contact Angus Specialist Palliative Care Services by telephoning 01356 665014.
Angus Carers Centre
Angus Carers Centre is a registered charity supporting unpaid carers in Angus. They have over 1500 unpaid carers registered with them (aged 8 to 94), and provide information, advice and a range of activities for adult and young carers and their cared for people, including:
- Carer virtual social and support groups
- Counselling service via phone or face to face
- 1:1 telephone support
- Walk and talk support
- Volunteer telephone befriending for both carers and their cared for
- Short breaks
- Regular newsletters
- Carers Emergency Plan support
- Carers card
- Help accessing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for personal care
- Signposting to other services as appropriate e.g. income check, home energy check
To contact Angus Carers Centre you can telephone on 01241 439157 or email enquiries@anguscarers.org.uk.
The website address is : https://www.anguscarers.co.uk/
Listening Service
NHS Listening Service provides support to anyone experiencing loss or illness by sharing what is on your mind with someone who knows how to listen. This service is also available to unpaid carers.
The service is available Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm. Call or text 07967771941.
Macmillan Cancer Support and Marie Curie have information on their websites and help-lines providing palliative and end of life care support and advice.
Macmillan Cancer Support
Macmillan Cancer Support telephone helpline is available 7 days a week 8am – 8pm. The support line offers confidential support from specialists in cancer care. The telephone number is: 0808 808 00 00.
The Macmillan Cancer Support website has free information and booklets on cancer treatments, living with cancer and the emotional impact for you and or your family. There is also information on financial assistance including one- off means tested payments to help with the extra costs you may be experiencing.
There is an online community service for people who wish to connect with people who are going through similar experiences. This service is available 24 hours a day.
Marie Curie
The Marie Curie Helpline is open Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm, Saturday 11am – 5pm, and Bank Holidays 10am – 4pm. The trained team, including nurses, can answer questions on any aspect of end of life care and provide practical and clinical information, emotional support and financial guidance. The telephone number is: 0800 090 2309.
There is also a Check in and Chat service which is a befriending call-back service where you’ll be matched with one of the Marie Curie volunteers. They will be able to give you ongoing support and be a friendly ear when you just need to talk.
Marie Curie Website has resources, information and online support available at https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/
Marie Curie also offer information and free booklets on the clinical, practical and emotional impacts of end of life care.
Loss and death will affect all of us at some point in our life. There is no right or wrong way to express or cope with grief. Some people may want to talk to others and express their feelings or they might find support groups help them. Sometimes people may wish to be alone. Some people use social media as a way of seeking support or expressing their grief. Some may talk to family or want to talk to someone who isn’t part of their family. Here are some services and organisations who can help and provide support.
A Bereavement Charter for Children and Adults in Scotland
The Charter has been developed to support individuals and communities who struggle with the death of someone they know or someone in their community and is available at the following website: http://www.sad.scot.nhs.uk/bereavement-charter/
The charter and guidance frame good bereavement care as a human right and the guidance notes have some very practical suggestions for how the Charter can be used in practice. It contains 15 statements which describe what the best bereavement care and support should look like.
Cruse Bereavement Care
Provides online, telephone or face to face support. You can contact them online or by telephoning 08456002227
WAY Widowed and Young
WAY is the only national charity in the UK offering support for people aged 50 or under when their partner has died.
It is a peer-to-peer support group operating with a network of volunteers who have been bereaved at a young age themselves, so they understand exactly what other members are going through.
Contact by leaving a message on the website: https://www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/contact/
Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief
Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief brings together people and organisations that are interested in improving people’s experiences of death, dying and bereavement in Scotland. The organisation is particularly focused on enabling communities and individuals to support each other through the hard times that can come with death, dying and bereavement. They run annual participative events supporting local and national engagement and dialogue. Their website provides and signposts to resources and practical tools.
Children and Young People
If there are children and young people who may be affected by the death of the person you have cared for, information and support is available from:
Listening Service
NHS Listening Service provides support to anyone experiencing loss or illness by sharing what is on your mind with someone who knows how to listen. This service is also available to unpaid carers.
The service is available Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm. Call or text 07967771941.
Winston’s Wish
Winston’s Wish offers information, telephone advice and online support for children after the death of a parent or sibling. Their experienced bereavement support team provide bereaved children and families with the tools to come to terms with their grief.
The free national helpline number is: 08088 020 021. The helpline provides bereavement support for parents, carers and professionals who are looking for childhood bereavement advice and support.
Support is also available online and is designed to help you talk about your grief and manage your grief when you do feel like you need help. Visit the online chat page and click on the ‘Ask Us’ image to speak to someone. The online chat is open Wednesdays and Fridays from 12 – 4pm.
Childhood Bereavement UK
Help available for children and young people (up to age 25), parents, and families, to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies. This includes information, resources, telephone advice and online support. Telephone : 0800 0288 840
Grief Encounter
Provides a telephone listening service and online support Monday to Friday, 9 am – 9 pm.
Telephone: 0808 802 0111.
Young people suffering from bereavement, who would like to contact Grief Encounter from across the UK, can get in contact via electronic methods including e-mail and Skype. Communicating with young people online allows us to access them whenever they need to talk to someone, or when they reach out for advice and guidance. Contact ecounselling@griefencounter.org.uk for more information.
Some pharmacies in Angus are part of a Community Pharmacy Palliative Care Network.
If a pharmacy is part of the network they will carry a recommended stock of essential palliative care medicines which will allow quick access to these medicines when a prescription is made by your GP.
They can also provide specialist advice to all other community pharmacists and other appropriate health care professionals as and when required.
| Pharmacy Name and Address | Telephone Number | OOH Opening Times |
| Well Pharmacy, 112 High Street, Arbroath | 01241 870962 | Saturday 9-5pm |
| Your Local Boots, 1-7 St David Street, Brechin | 01356 622057 | Saturday 9-5pm |
| Davidsons Chemists, 98 East High Street, Forfar | 01307 462775 | Saturday 9-1pm, 2-5pm |
| Alex S Troup, 9 High Street, Monifieth | 01382 532349 | Saturday 9-1pm, 2–5pm |
| Boots the Chemist, 63/65 High St, Montrose | 01674 676455 | Saturday 9-5:30pm Sunday 12-4pm Public Holidays 10-5pm |
| Boots the Chemist, 142/146 High St, Arbroath | 01241 870451 | Sat 9-5:30pm Public Holidays 9-5:30pm |
| Your Local Boots, 76 Barry Road, Carnoustie | 01241 852529 | Saturday 9-5pm |
| Your Local Boots, 10 High Street, Kirriemuir | 01575 572815 | Saturday 9-5pm |
| Letham Pharmacy, 26B Blairs Road, Letham, Angus | 01307 819233 | Saturday 8:30-5pm |
Feedback
We welcome your feedback on this section of the website. You can send an email to tay.angushscp@nhs.scot.
