We are the Specialist Neuro Pathway in DRS.

We treat patients with long term neurological conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease.

The team includes:

• Parkinson’s specialist nurse
• Multiple Sclerosis specialist nurse
• specialist physiotherapists
• specialist occupational therapists
• speech and language therapist
• dietitian
• specialist pharmacist
• therapy assistants

We provide:

• assessment
• advice, information and education regarding the conditions
• medication review and advice
• rehabilitation
• self-management programmes
• emotional and psychological support
• sign posting and referral to other professionals and services

We see people aged over 18 years with long term neurological conditions.

You will be offered an appointment in an outpatient clinic or at home depending on the needs assessed by the clinician.

The Dudley Rehabilitation Service consists of three services:

Community Neuro Pathway

Community Rehab Pathway

Community Stroke Rehabilitation

All services are based at:

Contact us

We hope that you will find the website a useful and informative resource that covers all the key issues that you want to find out more about.

As the website has been developed for people suffering with the condition, their carers and professionals, all of which are very likely to have different needs and expectations of this type of resource, we are very interested to receive any of your thoughts, comments and suggestions about how we might improve the website in the future.

You can send your comments by e-mail to: drs@nhs.net or by telephone on 01384 321600 option 2

The Community Diabetes Specialist Team are a multi-professional diabetes team consisting of:

• Diabetes Specialist Nurses, for both children and adults
• Community Podiatrists
• Specialist Dietician

They offer specialist advice and support for people with diabetes in Dudley, this includes specialist clinics in GP practices, health centres, care homes, own homes and in Russells Hall Outpatient departments. A portfolio of group structured patient education initiatives are available for people newly diagnosed with diabetes, those taking insulin treatment and those with type 1 diabetes who wish to match their insulin dosage with their carbohydrates Our help is available to you via your GP or other Health Care Professional.

This might be your first appointment, or you might be a frequent attender. Either way, we know visiting hospital can be a stressful experience and we want to do our best to make you feel at ease and help you understand what may happen during your appointment.

The department takes a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care with a team of staff including doctors, nurses, clinical nurse specialists, respiratory and cardiology technicians, administration staff and many more, contributing to a holistic approach to health.

What to bring with you?

Please bring with you your appointment letter and any medication that you are currently taking or using. If you are unable to bring all your medication please bring a copy of your repeat prescription so the clinicians treating you can make sure you receive the most appropriate care.

Booking in at reception

On arrival to the department you will need to check in at reception. If you have your appointment letter with you, you can hand it in at the reception desk. You will be asked to confirm your GP and personal details including next of kin, address and telephone number.

Your appointment

The consultant caring for you has a team of doctors and other health care professionals working alongside them and therefore you may not see the consultant named in your letter. Some appointments are brief; however, others can include tests and investigations. Please allow up to three hours for your appointment.

Questions you may wish to ask at your appointment

We want you to become involved in your healthcare and play an active part in decision making. We will always make time to listen, so please speak up if you have any queries or concerns. It is a good idea to write a list of any questions you need to ask the doctor or nurse so you can bring it with you to your appointment. The member of staff caring for you will be happy to answer any questions you have about your treatment.

Examples of some questions you may wish to ask are:

• Are there any other ways to treat my condition?
• Are there any risks or side affects related to the treatment or medication?
• If my symptoms improve, should I cancel my next appointment?
• What should I do if my symptoms worsen?

The Radiology Department is located across four sites and has a modern, well-equipped, integrated imaging service. The department covers inpatient, outpatient, Emergency Department and GP referrals.

The service provides:

• General X-rays
• Ultrasound scans
• CT scanning
• MRI scanning
• Nuclear medicine imaging
• Fluoroscopy
• Interventional radiology
• Mammography
• Medical Photography

We do not provide radiotherapy.

Services

Russells Hall Hospital

All radiological examinations by appointment only.

• Plain film Xray
• Fluoroscopy
• Ultrasound
• CT
• MRI
• Nuclear medicine
• Interventional Radiology
• Breast Screening Services
• Medical Photography

Corbett Outpatient Centre
All radiological examinations by appointment only.

• Ultrasound
• DEXA bone densitometry
• MRI
• GP requested and Outpatient plain X-ray examinations

Guest Outpatient Centre
All radiological examinations by appointment only.

• Ultrasound
• CT
• MRI
• GP requested and outpatient plain X-ray examinations

Brierley Hill Health and Social Care Centre
All radiological examinations by appointment only.

• Ultrasound
• Medical Photography

We provide inpatient and outpatient care for patients requiring advance kidney care. Working closely with our renal ward to continually improve treatments and outcomes for patients whilst providing a great patient experience.

We provide dialysis on ITU, CCU and MECU. C1b have dialysis trained nurses who can dialyse at the bedside on the renal ward.

Patients wishing to have an active part in their care a Shared Care Programme allows patients to actively participate in elements of their care, this has shown to have excellent health outcomes for patients.

We offer home therapies that support patients to live an active and fulfilled life. For patients who do not wish to carry out their treatment at home we have 2 satellite units in Kidderminster and Tipton.

We have our own on-site theatre where we can carry out renal biopsies and dialysis access insertion.

We also provide a plasmapheresis across the trust and offer a 24-hour service 7 days a week 365 days a year.

We also have a dedicated renal dietetic team who provide all patients under our care a tailored service to manage their nutritional needs.

Our Peritoneal dialysis unit provides training and support for patients who are receiving, or who will be starting, Chronic Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD). The CAPD unit also takes care of patients with Advanced kidney Disease who have not yet started treatment, and they are supported by our Living donor and transplant nurse specialists and our vascular access nurse.

Welcome to The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust’s Palliative Care and End of Life webpage.

The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust is committed to maintaining the best quality of life for its patients who are experiencing life-limiting conditions.

The vision for Dudley

All people with palliative and end of life care needs, irrespective of their diagnosis, together with those closest to them, are able to express their needs and wishes; and that as far as clinically appropriate and practically possible, these needs and wishes are met.

What is Palliative Care?

Palliative care is the active holistic care of patients with advanced progressive illness.

The management of pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social and spiritual support is paramount.

The goal of palliative care is achievement of the best quality of life for patients and those important to them.

Palliative Care in Dudley

High quality Palliative Care should be delivered by all health care professionals. The aim is that all staff caring for people with life limiting illness whether in hospital, at home, or in a care home, should be able to provide a ‘core level’ of care i.e. they should be able to provide less complex care well.

When the usual care team needs support or advice on more complex symptoms for a particular patient, then that patient can be referred to the Specialist Palliative Care Team – who provide what is called ‘Specialist level’ advice on the management of pain, or other symptoms whether physical, psychological, social or spiritual.

Gold Standards Framework at Russells Hall Hospital

Russells Hall Hospital has implemented the ‘Gold Standards Framework’ (GSF). The aim of the GSF is to provide ‘The right care for the right patient in the right place at the right time’

The GSF is a systematic, evidence based approach to optimise care for all patients approaching the end of life, delivered by all care staff actually seeing patients with life limiting illness.

For more information on the GSF, click here to watch a brief video about it!

For GSF patient information leaflet click here

Gold Standards Framework in Acute Hospitals in a nutshell

Palliative Care Champions

In the community, and in the hospital, there are ‘Palliative Care Champions’. These are nurses who have taken on additional competencies for palliative care. They have an interest and focus on caring for palliative care patients alongside their usual role. They link with their hospital or community or care home teams to help promote high quality practice, advocate for palliative care patients, and to cascade education out to colleagues.

The role of the Specialist Palliative Care Team (SPCT)

The SPCT offers expert holistic assessment of patients and those important to them. They then give advice, treatment and support on a range of symptoms and conditions.

The SPCT works collaboratively with other health and social care professionals to ensure that there is excellent holistic care. They do not ‘take over’ the care of patients, but rather provide care alongside the usual care teams.

Palliative Care Education

The SPCT provides support through delivery of education in Dudley which is mainly focused on trying to prepare staff at all levels (whether a doctor or a health care assistant or other role) to provide high quality ‘core level’ care.

Rheumatology is the branch of medicine that looks after rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. These diseases are usually caused by problems in the immune system, inflammation, infections, or the gradual deterioration of joints, muscles and bones. The service covers the full range of adult rheumatological conditions, from osteoarthritis and soft tissue rheumatism to inflammatory arthritis and complex systemic disorders, such as connective tissue diseases and vasculitis. Osteoporosis assessment by a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan and an osteoporosis clinic are also part of our service and are held at Corbett Outpatient Centre. We hold routine clinics, specialty clinics and combined clinics with medical colleagues (chest physicians, renal physicians and dermatologists) and surgical colleagues (orthopaedic and ENT surgeons and ophthalmologists).

How to access the service

Outpatient services are provided on three of our Trust’s sites (Russells Hall Hospital, Corbett Outpatient Centre and Guest Outpatient Centre) with day case facilities and services provided at Russells Hall Hospital. The service is multidisciplinary with dedicated physiotherapy, occupational therapy, chiropody, orthotic and psychology sessions, supporting the medical and specialist nursing teams.

The rheumatology team aims to work closely with the community and primary care settings to provide shared care for chronic arthritic patients. Patients need to be referred to us via their GP, who must use the e-Referral Service. Referrals are triaged daily into urgent, suspected inflammatory arthritis or routine appointments.

We are delighted to provide an Advice and Guidance service to GPs. If a patient is already under the follow up care of a consultant rheumatologist, please contact that consultants’ secretary, if you need to get in touch.

The Oak Clinic is a friendly, comprehensive service that provides world class care, advice and information for those living with HIV.

We provide a confidential, non-judgemental service focusing on ‘person-centred’ care, integrating and co-ordinating diverse elements of a person’s healthcare needs with a clear focus to maintain good health .

Our service is open-access, which means you do not need to be referred to the clinic by a GP or other healthcare professional.

No information will be shared about you without your explicit consent.

Services include: 

Morning and afternoon clinics, a mix of both face to face and telephone consultations provided by specialist consultants and experienced specialist nurses.

Monday evening Nurse led clinics

Emergency walk-in appointments

Phlebotomy only clinics

Medication and Adherence

Referral pathways and links to other hospital specialties
accessed by the patient

Other services include:

Lifestyle and Wellbeing Clinics

We are committed to supporting Clinical Governance, Evidence Based Healthcare, Research, Leadership and Management programmes and Continuing Education to all employees of The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and to students on placement within the Trust.

We achieve this by offering the following services:

• Access to books Health Libraries Midlands (HeLM)
• Interlibrary loans
• Access to NHS OpenAthens
• Literature searching
• 24/7 swipe access to facilities – quiet study areas, PCs, book loans using the ‘self serve’ kiosk and reference access to journals, with Trust ID badge.

For more information about any of the services we offer, please call (01384) 321077/8 or email us.

Opening times

The library is staffed during the following hours:

• Monday to Friday – 08:30-16:30

PCs and a study area are open to staff with a Trust ID card 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

OpenAthens

• Self registration
  To access online resources you need to register for an Athens user-name and password.
• Log-in
  If you already have a password you can log-on and search from here.