The Katharine House Hospice inpatient area has ten beds, arranged in two spacious four-bedded bays (men and women have separate accommodation), and four family rooms, which each have an extra bed for a family member to stay if they would like and their own private bathrooms. Although it’s not always possible, the team will offer you a choice of bed if they can.

People come into the inpatient unit for a variety of reasons and will have been referred to us by their GP or the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH). You might:

• need emotional or spiritual support, and the team will advise, support and help you manage these.
• come to the hospice for end-of-life care if you would prefer not to die at home. The staff will provide supportive care that is sensitive to the needs of you and your loved ones.

Visiting times

Inpatients in our hospice can have any two visitors with them at any one time between 8am and 8pm (they don't have to be the same two visitors throughout the day).

How the hospice cares for you

When you stay at Katharine House, the staff will always work to ensure that your individual needs are addressed. We know that many people are worried about visiting Katharine House for the first time because they don't know what to expect or have preconceptions about what a hospice is like.

The professional team, led by consultants in palliative medicine and specialist nurses, will support you with whatever problems or worries you may have. You can involve your family in discussions and decisions about your care, if you would like, and your family will be supported throughout.

If you come to stay with us, your care will be led by a doctor who is a consultant in palliative medicine and you would receive 24-hour nursing from our team of expert nurses in our inpatient unit. 

When your symptoms have become more manageable again you would be discharged home and your nurse will continue to look after you there.  

We do also admit some people for end-of-life care if the patient, family and health care professionals involved agree this is appropriate for the individual patient.

Some people come to the hospice once, some several times, and many never come in at all. Sometimes an outpatient appointment with one of our consultants is enough to support your symptom management. These outpatient appointments usually happen at the hospice, but occasionally the consultant will visit you at home.

The EPiC Resource Centre

We have created an information hub for all matters concerning end-of-life and palliative care, including topics to support you:

• if you have been diagnosed with an incurable illness
• if you're caring for someone with an incurable illness
• if you're wondering what financial support might be available for you. 

Find out more about the EPiC Resource Centre

Find out more

We work in partnership with the OUH. For more information about the Inpatient Care Unit, please go to the Inpatient Care page on the OUH website.

Katharine House Hospice

• To find out more about the work we do, read What we do or explore our services.
• To explore fundraising events, visit our What's On page.
• To receive regular news about development at the hospice and ways to support us, please sign up to our digital newsletter.