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A patient opens the door to her Hospice@Home Healthcare Assistant.

Hospice@Home

Our Hospice@Home service provides expert, compassionate care in the comfort of your own home, supporting you and your loved ones where you feel most at ease.

Compassionate care
where you feel most at ease

If you’re living with a life-limiting or terminal illness, you may wish
to receive care in the comfort and familiarity of your own home. Our Hospice@Home service helps make this possible, bringing the expert, compassionate care of St John’s Hospice directly to you.

Depending on your needs, we can offer care for as little as four hours a day or provide round-the-clock support. We understand that for people who live alone, or for carers in need of rest, short periods of practical and emotional support can make all the difference. That’s why we usually provide care in two-week blocks, helping you to manage pain and difficult symptoms, receive support to remain or die at home if that is your wish, and offering comfort and reassurance to family members and carers.

How we can support you

Our experienced team of Healthcare Assistants can help with:

  • Eating and taking fluids
  • Washing and personal care
  • Prompting you to take prescribed medications or supervising medical devices (such as syringe drivers)
  • Safely moving or repositioning you to maintain comfort
  • Checking your skin for signs of pressure ulcers
  • Escorting you to medical appointments when appropriate

While our Healthcare Assistants provide hands-on care and emotional support, household tasks such as shopping, cleaning, laundry, collecting prescriptions, or caring for children and pets are not part of their role. You may wish to arrange separate help for these activities.

If you need more support

Our Healthcare Assistants are trained to recognise any changes in your condition and can contact community nurses if you need additional medical support. They can also identify gaps in your care and refer you to other hospice services that may benefit you such as inpatient care.

"Our Healthcare Assistant cared for my mother and supported us as a family tremendously in her last hours. She was very experienced and could identify the various stages my mother was going through. This meant that we were able to spend her last moments with her, together, as a family."

– Daughter of a patient.

Who we care for

We recognise that illness does not discriminate - it affects people regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality or beliefs. We care for any person living with a life-limiting illness or terminal illness with specialist palliative care needs. This could include, but is not limited to cardiac, respiratory, or renal conditions, HIV, cancer, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's.

All of the care we provide is completely free of charge and available to anyone who meets our referral criteria.

Accessing our service

Our Hospice@Home care is completely free of charge for adults (aged 18 and over) living with a life-limiting or terminal illness with specialist palliative care needs in Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, and South Brent. At the end of November 2025, we will be soft-launching the service in Hammersmith & Fulham for end-of-life patients. The service will be fully rolled out in the borough in January 2026.

You can access the service through a referral from your GP, hospital doctor, nurse specialist, community nurse, or any other health or social care professional already involved in your care. You cannot self-refer to this service.

Once we receive your referral and confirm you meet the eligibility criteria, a member of our team will contact you to introduce the service and arrange a time to begin your care. We’ll also work closely with other professionals supporting you to create a seamless, personalised plan that meets your needs and wishes.

Make a referral

Get in touch

If you have any questions about how we can support you and those close to you, please contact us by emailing HospiceatHome@hje.org.uk or calling us on 0207 806 4027.

On the weekends and bank holidays, there will always be a member of our team on call who will be available from 9 am – 5 pm and who can be contacted on 078 8436 2241. Outside of these hours please call our hospice reception desk on 020 7806 4040 where you will be able to speak to an on-call member of staff for advice.

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Social worker visiting a client at home.

Social work and welfare support

Our palliative care social workers are here to help you with any anxieties or concerns you and those close to you may have. We can provide you with emotional and practical support, such as supporting you with benefits, housing and financial matters.

Find out more
A family who is supported by our Social Work and Bereavement Team, at home.

Bereavement support

Our bereavement support begins from your loved ones initial referral and continues throughout their care – not only once a loss has been experienced. Find out more about our adult and child bereavement support services.

Find out more
A view of the Inpatient Unit and dedicated Children's Room from outside in the hospice garden.

Frequently asked questions

Find out more about St John’s and the care we provide by browsing our list of frequently asked questions.

Find out more