Hospice receives glowing report from health watchdog

The care patients and families facing life-shortening illnesses experience at St Catherine’s Hospice has been rated as ‘outstanding’ in a report from the health and social care watchdog.

The Care Quality Commission said patients and families they met during their visit had praised St Catherine’s, resulting in the inspectors giving the hospice’s care services the highest accolade possible.

The report said: “People who used the service and their family members spoke very highly of the care and support they received. One person told us, ‘Everything they do here is first class’.”

Inspectors found that care was personalised to the individual and promoted privacy, dignity and independence.

Their report added: “People were supported to express their views and wishes about how their care was delivered. Staff treated people with patience, warmth, compassion and respected people’s rights to privacy, dignity and independence.”

Support also extended to the relatives and loved ones of patients, with one family member quoted in the report saying: “Nothing is too much trouble for the staff.”

St Catherine’s, an adult hospice for people with life-shortening conditions such as cancer, motor neurone disease, heart failure and Parkinson’s disease, also scored highly in four other key questions about the service’s effectiveness, responsiveness, safety and leadership.

The hospice’s effectiveness was praised in terms of managing patients’ pain and symptoms, helping them to understand their medication, and supporting them to eat and drink in the best way possible for them.

The training St Catherine’s provides to staff in a range of fields, its recruitment and induction processes for volunteers, and its strong relationships with other health and social care organisations such as hospitals, were also highlighted as effective in the inspection report.

The CQC found the hospice to be responsive to patients’ needs and to have systems in place to be able to react quickly to changes as they developed.

The inspectors said: “People told us they could express their views and were involved in making decisions about all aspects of their care. They told us they felt listened to.

“Family members told us they felt the communication with staff at the hospice was excellent. One family member told us, “They let me know straightaway if there are any changes or anything happens”. Another family member told us, “The team responds very quickly to the needs of the patient and the family”.

On the day of the inspectors’ visit staffing levels were high and varied enough to provide a good, safe level of care, and ensured staff had enough time to spend with their patients.

The report said: “One person told us, ‘The staff are extremely attentive’. Family members we spoke with felt there were enough staff on duty to meet the needs of their relatives.”

The inspectors found a clear management structure in place with all staff working towards a common set of values centred around dignity, independence and respect. They also found good systems for monitoring and assessing the quality of the hospice’s services and for managing risks.

The report added: “There was a strong emphasis on continually striving to improve, in order to deliver the best possible support for those who used the service.”

Stephen Greenhalgh, Chief Executive of St Catherine’s Hospice, said: “We are extremely proud of the report we have received from CQC. Patients and their personal needs are at the heart of everything we do and their findings reflect this.

“The report recognises everyone’s efforts to help local people when it matters most, including those who provide care and those who help us raise the £5m we need each year to do so. Everyone associated with St Catherine’s should be very proud of this achievement – it is a real team effort.”

Jimmy Brash, Director of Care at St Catherine’s Hospice, said: “I know how hard our staff and volunteers work to provide high quality care. I am delighted to see this recognition from CQC inspectors which includes such positive feedback from patients and families.”

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