Palliative Care - Wigan and Leigh Hospice Advice Line and WHISPAR
🏥 Overview
The Wigan and Leigh Hospice advice line offers 24/7 support for palliative care clinical queries. WHISPAR serves as the single point of access for all referrals across the borough.
📞 Advice Line Contacts
⚠️ Out of Hours Change
The out-of-hours service (16:00–08:30) is now restricted to urgent clinical queries and crisis reassurance only.
Non-urgent specialist palliative care requests out of hours must be emailed to
wlhospice.admin@nhs.net.
Office Hours (08:30 - 16:00)
Contact the team directly for specialist palliative care advice.
- Phone: 01942 525566
- Email: wlhospice.admin@nhs.net
Out of Hours (16:00 - 08:30)
Use the telephone line strictly for urgent issues. Non-urgent referrals require email processing.
| Situation | Action |
|---|---|
| Urgent Clinical Query / Crisis | Phone 01942 525566 |
| Non-Urgent (Known Patient) | Email wlhospice.admin@nhs.net |
| Non-Urgent (New Patient) | Email WHISPAR referral (see below) |
🔗 WHISPAR Referrals
WHISPAR is the single point of access for palliative care referrals. Representatives meet daily to review cases.
ℹ️ Referral Criteria
- Patients must be over 18.
- Patients must live in Wigan Borough or have a Wigan GP.
- Referrals are accepted from health and social care professionals only (not patients or families).
Making a Referral Out of Hours
If a patient not known to the hospice requires non-urgent support out of hours:
- Seek patient consent.
- Complete the WHISPAR referral form.
- Email the form to
wlhospice.admin@nhs.net.
🛌 Available Services
| Service | Availability | Key Details |
|---|---|---|
| District Nurses | 24/7 | Nursing needs, symptom control, administration of medicines. |
| Domiciliary Care | Daytime | Personal care provision (Max 4 visits per day). |
| Marie Curie | Overnight | Care at home for patients approaching last days of life (Max 3 nights per week). |
| Hospice Inpatient Unit | 14 Beds | Complex symptom management only. No respite care available. |
💡
Always check the Inpatient Unit criteria carefully—respite admissions are not accepted, so manage expectations with patients and families accordingly.