History
Màxima Medical Center is a large teaching hospital in the south east of the Netherlands with 614 beds and 3000 employees. As a member of the STZ (Dutch association of top clinical hospitals) we focus on top clinical care, research and training.
Màxima Medical Center offers inpatient and outpatient services in 24 medical specialties. Yearly 422.360 outpatients and 24.470 inpatients are treated.
Profile
The oncology department of Màxima Medical Center collaborates with Maastricht University Medical Centre and consists of 30 clinical beds and 1295 admitted patients annually. The team consists of 5 (hemato)oncologists, 2 trainee doctors and 27 oncological nurses.
Integrated within the oncology department is a specialized Palliative Care Unit (PCU) with dedicated and especially trained medical and nursing staff. Twice weekly oncology patients are multidisciplinary discussed. Once weekly the palliative patients are discussed in a transmural multidisciplinary team. All oncological and palliative care patients have a casemanager.
Oncological and palliative care is provided according to (inter)national guidelines. In 2013 the department received the national accreditation for oncology and palliative care.
Specialities
The department of palliative and supportive care is incorporated in the department of Medical Oncology and Hematology. It delivers this type of care to all patients with any kind of cancer. As the department has a supraregional (tertiary) function for melanoma, renal cell cancer, urothelial cell carcinoma, neuroendocrine tumors, leukemia, multiple myeloma and support following stem cell transplantation, there is specific experience/specialisation in providing palliative care during any stage of these cancers.
In addition, in view of clinical research, the department focusses on adverse events during and after chemo- and immunotherapy (eg neurotoxicity), rehabilitation during cancer treatment as well as the process of shared decision making during the palliative phase in cancer (patients). Presently the department is establishing facilities for delivering complementary health care to patients in the palliative phase.
Palliative and Supportive Care
Palliative care and support and the possibility of admission to the PCU for 24 hours a day. A multidisciplinary consulting team consisting of 3 GP's, oncologists, anaesthesiologist, neurologist, psychologist, physiotherapist, palliative care nurse, oncology nurses, dietician, spiritual counsellor and on demand other medical specialists. This team discusses weekly all palliative patients and gives advice to the treating medical specialist/GP and nursing staff.
Advice can be asked from a home setting, other departments and during and after admission at the PCU. The advised palliative care can be delivered regardless the complexity of medical devices at home or at the PCU and then will be continued in the home setting. To realize this we organized a collaboration network with homecare nurses specialized in palliative care, GP's/consultant physicians at nursing homes as well as hospices.
Last update: February 2021
