History
The Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo (from now on San Matteo Hospital) is a nationally and internationally important public Hospital with a strong presence of the University of Pavia Medical School. Divided into the Pavia and Belgioioso sites, it is characterised by the provision of highly specialised hospitalisation and care services and by the vocation to integrate scientific research, assistance and teaching both in the diagnosis and treatment and the clinical and translational research facilities.
Profile
The Oncology Division, part of the Oncology-Comprehensive Cancer Center Department,) was established in 2008 and is structured on different blocks within the Hospital and nearby structures. It is the place of the Postgraduate Specialisation in Medical Oncology, University of Pavia.
The Oncology Unit, located in Pavia, is organised into the following Subunits:
- The “Inpatient Acute Care Ward” includes 27 beds. The inpatient setting provides access to a full range of services ascribed to an acute-care general hospital, including availability of diagnostic laboratory and imaging services, access to a range of consulting physicians.
- The “Outpatient Clinic” is opened from Monday through Friday for planned treatments (chemotherapy, biological therapy, local therapies and supportive measures), medications, biopsies, thoracentesis and paracentesis, monitoring of patients undergoing experimental treatments. The Day Hospital service has 9 beds, and 8 treatment chairs and provides up to 50 active therapies per day. In San Matteo Hospital there is also a Pain Management Service, and psycho-oncologists are present in the Division to take care of Cancer patients and their relatives. For nutritional support physicians and dietists of the Nutrition and Dietetics Service are available. The patient association called AMOS (Amici dell’Oncologia del San Matteo), based in the outpatient clinic, provides several activities supporting the patients and their families (for details visit www.amos-pavia.it).
- The Clinical Trial Office supports the Clinical and Translational Studies of the Oncology department including those related to palliative care. The Clinical Trial Office includes dedicated figures trained for these activities: a Research Coordinator, a budget analyst/EC submission and study coordinators.
The “Palliative Care Unit” (since February 2023 is an “independent” facility -Struttura Semplice Dipartimentale within the Oncology Department) is located in the Belgioioso Site of the Hospital, about 20 km from Pavia, and it includes:
- The Hospice with 10 large rooms with equipped beds, tables, wardrobes, shelves, private bathrooms, and beds for relatives who can stay overnight.
- The Palliative Care Day Hospice and the Ambulatory are opened every day for treatments and supportive care (hydration, blood transfusions, parenteral nutrition, pain management, etc.), medications, monitoring of patients by blood tests and radiological exams and visit (also Early Palliative Care visits). The Day Hospice service is structured for 6 day care places (4 beds and 2 treatment chairs.
The Post Graduate Specialisation in Palliative Care is an active course of the University of Pavia from 2023, with a strict collaboration with San Matteo Hospital, where students are trained in various clinical Units, including Internal Medicine, Oncology, and Palliative Care.
Specialities
From the beginning, the field of activity of the Oncology Unit was not purely cancer therapeutic but has included the interdisciplinary cooperation with the Palliative Care Unit that was created inside the same structure. Specialists of the Palliative Care Unit (including a psychologist) work closely within the in- and out-patients settings of the Oncology Unit. Our mission is also to improve the understanding of factors affecting the quality of life and quality of care of cancer patients and their caregivers. Clinical Audits are periodically organised and clinical meeting, attended by the personnel of the Units involved in the treatment process, are planned weekly to discuss clinical cases.
Palliative and Supportive Care
The Palliative Care Unit manages the patient requiring control and stabilisation of symptoms in a terminal stage of the disease or patients with inadequately controlled symptoms at home. In particular, an organised highly-structured system patient and family-centred, delivers care that focuses on the effective management of pain and other distressing symptoms, while incorporating psychosocial and spiritual care.
The Palliative Care interdisciplinary team includes a psychologist, a social worker, physiotherapists, and nutritionists on demand. Moreover, a chaplain is present in this structure, offering spiritual support to the inpatients and their relatives.
It carries on projects and offers tools to help cancer patients and their families to cope with the disease. The mission of the Supportive and Palliative Care Unit is to prevent and relieve suffering and to support the best possible quality of life for patients and their families. A multidisciplinary approach is guaranteed due to the close collaboration among specialists inside the Unit (oncologists and palliative care specialists work in team to offer continuity within a simultaneous care process) and with the other specialists of the hospital, as well as with nurses and paramedical clinicians.
Since 2016, to optimise the integration between Oncology Unit and Palliative Care services, a Palliative Care specialist is available at San Matteo Hospital Pavia for visits and consultations even during the initial trajectory of the illness: prognosis-based and needs-based evaluations help to identify patients who can benefit from specialised palliative care. The Palliative Care specialist is also available for consultations at the bedside of all other Units of San Matteo Hospital, including Internal Medicine, Haematology, General and specialised Surgeries, Lung Clinic, Emergency.
Last update: March 2025
