Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care has launched a coordination centre to handle all new patient referrals to the charity - and ensure that everybody with a life-limiting illness in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire can access the service that is right for them.

The centre is staffed by clinical nurse specialists and administrative colleagues, and open to patients right from the point of diagnosis with a progressive life-limiting illness.

At the point of referral by a healthcare professional, each patient’s symptoms and circumstances are reviewed by one of the coordination centre’s specialist nurses to ensure they are referred to the service or services that best meet their needs – whether those services are offered by Rennie Grove Peace or a partner organisation.

Erin Beer, head of IPU and the coordination centre at Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, explains: "Since merging to form Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care we have more services to offer patients, and the coordination centre will be crucial in ensuring that every patient is being referred to the right services for them.

“The coordination centre is staffed by trained professionals who are experts in understanding and assessing not only patients’ symptoms, but their circumstances, too, to ensure every patient who is referred to us can make the most of the full range of services we offer."

The Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care Coordination Centre is open 8am to 6pm, seven days per week and can be contacted on 01923 60 60 30 (urgent calls answered 24/7) and coordinationcentre@renniegrovepeace.org.