LymphCare UK accepts referrals from a wide range of health care professionals, for example this may be your GP, District Nurse, hospital consultant or specialist nurse. Following your referral to LymphCare UK you will receive an appointment to attend one of our clinics, or a home visit, and a leaflet about LymphCare UK and the services we provide.

We will see you as soon as we can after receiving this referral, but please contact us if you have any issues or concerns whilst you’re waiting for your first appointment. We may be able to offer some advice over the phone.

We will ask you to contact us to confirm that you are able to attend. You are welcome to bring a relative or friend along with you. Let us know in advance if you want a chaperon or need an interpreter. We aim to offer you an appointment in the clinic most local or convenient to you. If you are housebound we can arrange to see you at home. You will be seen by one of our experienced Lymphoedema Nurse Specialists.

At Lymphcare UK we are proud to work in partnership with Birmingham City University and provide pre- registration nursing student training. If there is a student in clinic on the day of your appointment we will ask your permission for him or her to join us.

1.Assessing your needs

Your first appointment can take up to 1½ hours. During the first part of your appointment, we will ask you about your medical history. It is helpful if you can bring with you a list of medications and bring any dressings or creams you use. We will then ask you about your swelling, how long it has been there and how it is affecting you physically and emotionally. This will enable us to offer you the best support and advice. We will then carry out an examination of your swelling. We may take measurements and, with your consent, we may take photographs. These are both helpful as a measure to judge how well your treatment is progressing. If it is your legs that are affected an arterial assessment may be carried out using a painless non-invasive procedure. You may need to come back into the clinic for this. We may suggest to your GP a referral as appropriate to other healthcare provider or specialist service.

2.Planning your Care

Before the end of your appointment, we will discuss the different types of treatments you may require and, together with you make a care plan. We will provide you with a copy of the care plan and any other relevant leaflets or information to enable you to improve and manage and your condition. We will then with your permission, write to your doctor and any other relevant health care professional. We will inform them of your plan of care, order any prescriptions which you may require, and possibly ask for any other information/investigations that may be helpful for your diagnosis and treatment. It may be appropriate in some cases to go straight into a maintenance programme of care, this relies on you self-managing your lymphoedema following a care plan that we will develop together. If you need one of our intensive treatment options, sometimes known as Decongestive Lymphoedema Treatment (DLT), such as compression bandaging , Intermittent Pneumatic Compression Therapy and Medical Lymphatic Drainage we will arrange for you to come back into the clinic. If you are housebound, we will carry out DLT at home. These intensive treatments are undertaken over a 2 to 4 week period depending on your individual care plan. If you have any questions or concerns about what to expect at your first appointment or any of your appointments then don’t hesitate to ring us to discuss further.

Following on from your first appointment an individual care plan will be discussed and this will help you to self-manage your condition. Self-management is a vital part of your ongoing treatment and maintenance. This may include skin care, exercise, nutrition, Self-Lymphatic Drainage (SLD) and compression garments. Your care plan may involve more intensive treatment (Decongestive Lymphoedema Treatment) carried out by our specialist nursing team. This may include compression bandaging intermittent pneumatic compression therapy, medical lymphatic drainage. LymphCare UK provides a comprehensive range of treatments options in the clinic and at home. Whether you have lymphoedema, lipoedema or chronic oedema some or all of the treatments, which are available at LymphCare UK, may be applicable to you and this will be discussed during your consultation.