Marie Curie Hospice and Community Services Yorkshire Region

Updated 22 March 2024

Marie Curie is a charitable organisation, registered with the Charity Commission, which raises funds to offer care and support through terminal illness. First established in 1948, the service has been caring for people living with any terminal illness, and their families, for over 60 years. Marie Curie is the UK’s largest charitable employer of palliative nurses and professionals. It is also the largest charitable funder of palliative care research.

The service offers expert care, guidance and support to help them get the most from the time they have left. All services are free of charge. Patients are referred to the service from the National Health Service (NHS) for symptom control, end of life care and respite. Care is delivered both night and day by Marie Curie Registered Nurses (RGN’s) and Healthcare Assistants (HCA’s) trained in palliative care.

Marie Curie is a charity working across the UK. Donations pay for 51% of hospice care at home services, and 64% to run nine hospices with the remainder coming from NHS commissioning.

The hospice is situated near the city centre of Bradford, located on a hill with views over the city. Public transport is available part way to the hospice.

The building was purpose-built 23 years ago, the inpatient unit was refurbished in 2014 and the outpatient’s unit was refurbished in 2019. The unit includes 12 beds, and all rooms are single person occupancy. Overnight stays can be accommodated for relatives and carers if needed. For those wishing to remain with their loved ones, some patient rooms have a day bed and there are also 2 separate bedrooms with en-suite facilities away from the inpatient area.

From expert nursing and personal care to emotional or bereavement support, hospice care at home provides hands-on care to anyone with an illness they are likely to die from, and those close to them, in the comfort of their own home.

A multi-faith chapel is available with a separate prayer room, including foot washing facilities. The conservatory on the in-patient unit has a supply of toys and books to entertain children. Hot drinks are available via a drinks machine and dining room area. The dining room is open from 7.30am until 6pm, providing a variety of hot and cold meals to staff and visitors.

The inpatient unit is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The medical team is on site during working hours and a full consultant and junior doctor on-call rota is in operation out of hours.

Diagnostic and screening services are provided by the local hospital which offer biochemistry, haematology, microbiology, radiology, and blood transfusion services.

The Marie Curie Community Service Yorkshire is commissioned to provide services across the local integrated care system and other provider organisations. Services have been developed in conjunction with the NHS commissioners to meet specific needs. These included:

• Planned Hospice Care at Home Service: care is delivered in the patient’s home on a single patient per shift basis
• Rapid Response Service: led by registered nurses, providing flexible and responsive palliative nursing care, at short notice to patients at home
• The service offered a hospital admission avoidance service. The Responsive Emergency Assessment and Community Team (REACT) worked closely with emergency department colleagues. The service identified individuals in the last months of life who are medically fit for care at home. They provided care at home for up to 72 hours to enhance patient experience and deliver care, including care homes. The REACT model was unique to Marie Curie Hospice (Yorkshire)

Updated 22 March 2024

The service was last inspected in November 2016. At that time, we rated the service as good overall.

Our rating of this location improved. We rated it as outstanding because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, there was comprehensive systems to keep people safe, taking into account current best practice. The whole team was engaged in reviewing and improving safety and safeguarding. Staff understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service-controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. Medicines were managed safely, stored correctly, and disposed of safely. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided a high standard of care and treatment and gave patients pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, supported them to make decisions about their care and had access to comprehensive information.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs and helped them understand their conditions. People who used the service were active partners in their care. Staff were fully committed to working in partnership with people. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• The involvement of other organisations and the local community was integral to how services were planned and ensured that services met the needs of the local communities served. The hospice also worked with others in the wider system to plan care. The service treated concerns and complaints seriously, investigated them and shared lessons learned with all staff, including those in partner organisations.
• Leadership, management, and governance of the organisation assured the delivery of high quality and person-centred care, supported learning and innovation, promoting an open and fair culture. Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values both at local and corporate level and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported, and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to continuous service improvement.

Updated 22 March 2024

Our rating of this service improved. We rated it as outstanding

We rated this service as outstanding overall because it was good in safe, effective and caring and outstanding in responsive and well led.