A hospice in Erdington, Birmingham, has been rated outstanding following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in January.
CQC inspected John Taylor Hospice, ran by The Hospice Charity Partnership, and found a service where people benefitted from outstanding end of life care.
Following the inspection, John Taylor Hospice was rated outstanding overall and for being caring, responsive and well-led. It was rated good for being safe and effective. The hospice was previously rated as good overall.
Sarah Dunnett, CQC’s head of hospital inspection, said:
“When we inspected John Taylor Hospice, we were extremely impressed by the level of support people received in its care.
“We found staff went above and beyond to honour patient’s wishes at the end of their life, in thoughtful and innovative ways. For example, staff had worked together to arrange a discharge home for an end of life patient within three hours. Working together in this way ensured the person got their wish to be with their family for their final moments.
“Another example was when staff turned an area of the hospice into a beach so someone could have their wish to take their child to the seaside. Staff had arranged for sand, ice creams, fish and chips, deckchairs and a photographer so the family could have loving memories.
“We saw that people’s emotional and social needs were as important as their physical needs. Staff recognised when someone needed some company and they often sat with people, chatted and held their hands.
“Feedback about the service was consistently positive. One family member told us how staff treated them as part of the John Taylor family and how at a difficult time, it was a wonderful experience.
“This is a great service, providing the best care for people in difficult circumstances. The whole team deserve to be congratulated for all their hard work and commitment.”
CQC inspectors found:
- There was evidence of excellent multidisciplinary working to ensure patients were able to die in their preferred place
- Staff were creative when helping to support people, and they did all they could to ensure their emotional needs were met
- The service had implemented new ideas and worked with other hospices and services to prevent hospital admissions
- Wellbeing was very much on the agenda for the management team and they worked hard to make the hospice a good place to work for all staff
- The service was constantly striving to improve, and staff were encouraged to start new forums in relation to gaps in the service. The service had implemented a learning disability and neurodiversity group
- The hospice provided teaching, mentoring and support to both postgraduate and undergraduate medical students and post graduate speciality trainees. This included tutoring and training students in holistic palliative care to consolidate their learning
- To keep up with the changes due to COVID-19 pandemic, the complimentary therapy service adapted to include a postal service, phone meditations, complementary videos and virtual sessions.
Full details of the inspection are given in the report published on our website.
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