Get a referral
How referrals work
A referral form will need to be completed, ideally by a medical professional and will usually be sent to us by a patient’s GP, hospital professional or other health care professional.
The Care Co-ordination Centre provides specialist palliative care advice and support to referrers (professionals) and patients with a life-limiting illness and is the first point of access for all referrals to North London Hospice. This includes clinical and non-clinical staff working closely with primary and secondary care teams and other health and social care providers.
Referrals must demonstrate the specialist palliative care needs of the patient and consent must always be obtained prior to referral.
Referrals may also be received from patient or family/friends with patient consent, but will require further clinical information from the patient’s GP to ensure needs are appropriate to specialist palliative care.
Download our referral form
116 KB WORD file
Referral criteria
We will accept referrals to support patients and their families/carers who are living with a life limiting illness. Our aim is to enable people to live and die well. Patients must have specialist palliative care needs.
Each referral will begin with a telephone triage assessment to ensure the referral is passed to the appropriate service within the hospice and to help decide how urgently the patient requires intervention.
Important update: From 8 June 2026, we will only be able to accept referrals for terminal care due to our anticipated move to Jade Ward at Edgware Community Hospital. This is a temporary move whilst we redevelop our Inpatient Unit. This change to referral criteria is to ensure that we are keeping the number of patients who are potentially being moved to a minimum. Work will begin in August 2026 and it is anticipated that the newly rebuilt Inpatient Unit will open in autumn 2027.
We provide a holistic approach to all our patients but all referrals must fall within one of the following categories:
Uncontrolled, complex physical symptoms that are related to their Palliative Care diagnosis. (Please note, we cannot accept referrals for chronic pain.)
End-of-life care needs e.g. anticipatory medications.
Emotional, psychological, or spiritual distress of the patient and / or family / carer.
Advanced Care Planning – making difficult decisions about the future and personal preferences.
Sometimes patient conditions / symptoms improve and they no longer have specialist palliative care needs. Under these circumstances we may discharge patients from our service and signpost to other organisations if appropriate. Patients can then be re-referred at any time via their GP or other healthcare professional.
Referral form
We will accept referrals to support patients and their families/carers who are living with a life limiting illness. Our aim is to enable people to live and die well. Patients must have specialist palliative care needs.
Download our referral form
116 KB WORD file
Referral enquiries
Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm: 0800 368 7848
All clinical or patient related enquiries should be sent to our secure email address: nlondonhospice.ccc@nhs.net.
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