Marie Curie Hospice, West Midlands

We moved to bigger, purpose-built site in 2012, which meant we could provide our services to more patients and their families – not just in Solihull but also in Birmingham and Warwickshire.

What are the bedrooms like?

The bedrooms at our hospice are private and spacious, all with en-suite bathrooms as well as direct access to our landscaped gardens. Families can visit at any time, and you can even bring in your pet for a visit or to stay with you.

Where would I receive day services?

In our day services unit, which supports twice as many patients compared with our old hospice, offering clinical support, rehabilitation, emotional support, practical advice and complementary therapies. Read more about the day services we offer.  

Is there somewhere to get food?

Yes. Our café is open from 8am to 4:45pm every day. It sells a variety of refreshments, light snacks and meals. Outside of these times, there are vending machines wherever you can buy drinks and snacks.

Is there a gym?

There is no gym but we do have a rehabilitation room to help the people staying with us to develop the skills they need to maintain their independence and quality of life.

What about the gardens?

There are beautiful, landscaped gardens surrounding the hospice , with direct access for each each bedroom. Our volunteer gardeners help to keep them looking lovely all year round.

We also have a fairy therapy garden which our Child Bereavement Councellor uses to work with children.

As well as our gardens, we have an integrated greenhouse built into the hospice, to give year-round access to plants and horticulture.

Are there facilities for advanced life support?

No, we don't have the specialist equipment to offer advanced life support. If you have any questions about this please ask your doctor or nurse.

What about conference facilities?

Yes. The hospice has dedicated training and meeting rooms to enable our staff to share their skills with healthcare professionals in the community. If you'd like to enquire about hiring our conference facilities please call our reception team on 0121 703 3600.

Planning a visit to our hospice? Whether you’re coming in to see friends or relatives, we hope you find the following information about our facilities useful.

If you have any further questions, please give us a call, or speak to a member of staff or volunteer who will be happy to help.

Visitor toilets

There are several visitor toilets in the building. You'll find them in the reception area, to the left of the café and in the inpatient area, adjacent to Room 6 and Room 21, opposite the visitors’ lounge.

Reducing the risk of infection

For infection control reasons, we ask that visitors do not use the en-suite facilities in patient bedrooms.

You'll also notice that there is hand sanitizer gel at the entrance to the inpatient area
as well as each patient’s bedroom. Please use this gel before entering and leaving these areas.

To avoid spreading germs, please try to avoid visiting patients if you're feeling unwell or suffering with a cold, flu or any other infectious diseases.

If you work in a healthcare environment, please change out of your uniform before entering the hospice. You may notice other external healthcare workers in uniform, but this is because they are visiting in a professional capacity.

Patient mobility

We encourage our patients to leave their bedrooms and use the hospice facilities, and we're here to help if needed. 

If the person you're visiting will be out for a lengthy period, or more importantly goes off-site, please make sure you've told a member of staff.

Red tabards

You might notice some nurses are wearing red tabards with the wording: ‘DRUG ROUND IN PROGRESS, DO NOT DISTURB’. These tabards are worn for safety reasons.

Please try to avoid approaching a member of staff when they're wearing a tabard, unless of course it's in an emergency.

Refreshments

Our café is open from 8am to 4:45pm every day. It sells a variety of refreshments, light snacks and meals. Outside of these times, there are vending machines wherer you can buy drinks and snacks.

You'll find free tea and coffee making facilities in the patient bedroom area. If you'd like to leave a donation towards the cost, you can do this through the donation boxes.

Visitor areas

For visitors who wish to remain in the hospice for longer periods of time, we have a visitors’ lounge and shower facilities. You'll find these in the centre of the inpatient area.

You'll also find a quiet room in the inpatient area where you're welcome to spend some time if you like.

We're very proud of our gardens and courtyards at the hospice and want you to enjoy them. Please note that we have a pond, so make sure children are accompanied for their own safety.

Smoking guidelines

Smoking is not permitted within the hospice building. We ask visitors who wish to smoke to use the smoking shelter. Please don't smoke in any other area within the hospice grounds.

Fire alarm testing

We have a fire alarm test every Thursday at 11am. This usually lasts no longer than 10 seconds.

Comments and suggestions

We welcome comments from all who use the hospice. If you would like to offer any ideas or suggestions, please just fill in a suggestion form which can be found at the reception desk.

You may hear people using the term palliative care. This type of care focuses on helping you to maintain the best possible quality of life.

Palliative care includes a variety of treatments to help you with any physical problems as well as your social and psychological needs. Support also extends to your family and friends who may have concerns about you and your illness.

You might receive palliative care at the same time as other treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Find out more about palliative care.

Please do not bring valuables to the hospice as we cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage.

If you're admitted at short notice and you have valuables with you, please give them to the nursing staff so they can be locked away until they can be taken home.

We want to make sure that our patients and their families receive the best possible care and support from us. Carrying out research is one way to help us understand the needs of patients and families, and how we can best meet those needs.

From time to time, we invite patients and families we are caring for to be involved in research studies. If you are interested in taking part, read more in this leaflet  . or find out more about research at our hospices.

See all our statements of purpose by nation and region.

You are legally entitled to read your medical records. If you'd like to request a copy of your records, please write to the hospice manager.

Any information you share with staff will be protected by our duty of confidentiality. Our staff work within their professional codes of conduct and the Data Protection Act.

If you're experiencing a problem, please talk through the matter with your nurse in the first instance, who will try to help. If you need to make a complaint, you can write to the hospice manager at the following address:

The Hospice Manager
Marie Curie Hospice, West MIdlands
Marsh Lane
Solihull B91 2PQ

The hospice manager will try to resolve the problem quickly for you.

Alternatively, you can use our online complaints form.