Pal­lia­tive care and hos­pice care ser­vices in the wellbeing services county of Kymenlaakso

In the Kymenlaakso wellbeing services county, palliative care wards are located at Karhula Hospital in Kotka and Ratamo Centre in Kouvola. The palliative wards, Villa Meri in Kotka and Villa Apila in Kouvola, are intended for acute inpatient care and end-of-life care for palliative patients.

The wards also serve as support units for palliative patients living at home, allowing patients to transfer directly from home to the ward when necessary. During inpatient care, the goal is to stabilize the patient’s condition and enable their return home. Palliative inpatient care also includes the provision of end-of-life care. Both wards have 10 patient beds.

The palliative outpatient clinic offers appointments with a physician and a nurse, and home visits are arranged when necessary. Social and healthcare units can consult the clinic. The palliative outpatient clinic collaborates with the hospital-at-home service, home care, the palliative ward, primary healthcare, specialized medical care, and other parties involved in the patient’s treatment.

The Hospital at Home unit is an integral part of the palliative care pathway and enables palliative patients living at home to have round‑the‑clock access to palliative care specialists. The Hospital at Home service points are located in Kotka and Kouvola. The unit’s nurses conduct symptom assessment visits to palliative patients when needed, provide complex symptom management — including the use of medication pumps — in patients’ homes, and are responsible for home-based end‑of‑life care.

The palliative center also includes a consultation team consisting of a mobile nurse–physician pair. The consultation team works in the field and visits Kymenlaakso Central Hospital in Kotka as well as primary care wards in Karhula, Hamina, and Kouvola. The team provides support and specialist expertise, for example in planning and managing symptom treatment, discussions concerning care pathways and care limitations, and planning of continued care for palliative patients. Supporting patients and their loved ones is also an important part of the consultation team’s work.