The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has welcomed significant improvements at Prospect Hospice in Swindon and has now rated the service as outstanding.
Inspectors carried out this comprehensive inspection at Prospect Hospice in July following a number of improvements which had been made to the service.
In February 2018 and August 2018 inspectors carried out two focused inspections of the service, due to concerns raised about the leadership, culture and poor oversight of the quality of patient care. Since that time Prospect Hospice has a new leadership team in place who have worked hard to improve the service and embed the changes made.
Following the latest inspection, the overall rating for Prospect Hospice has moved from requires improvement to outstanding. Caring and well-led were rated as outstanding, while safe, effective and responsive were all rated as good.
Nigel Acheson, CQC’s deputy chief inspector of hospital inspection, said:
“Prospect Hospice has been on a sustained journey of improvement since our first visit in July 2019. It is clear the new leadership team has taken our feedback on board and worked hard to address our concerns.
“Previously CQC did have a number of concerns, especially with risks to patient safety, staff engagement and the leadership of the hospice. However, the new management team have made significant improvements and we feel assured that these have been thoroughly embedded. Systems are now in place to ensure that staff feel motivated to develop their skills and improve the care they deliver. Staff were also very keen to tell us that leaders and managers had supported them at difficult times and that they felt proud about working at the hospice.
“This change in culture has had a positive impact on the care of patients using the service and has allowed staff to explore more innovative ways to care for people. Although staff were already providing care with dignity and respect, now they are even more responsive to individual wishes and requests, especially for people who need end of life care, as they work in partnership with these patients to ensure their final wishes are a reality.
“The service has come a long way and staff and the leadership team deserve to be congratulated for the hard work they have put in to turn the service around. We believe that other providers will find the details of outstanding care in this report helpful in their own journeys of continuous improvement.”
Inspectors found the following:
- People were consulted and actively involved in how they wanted their care to be delivered, and their physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual wishes were all taken into consideration. Families were also included in care planning
- Staff were proactive in responding to patient needs and choices and developed new ways of working to meet those needs. One example involved creating a whole system of training, with new ways of working, so that family carers could safely administer prescribed injections for their loved one. Carers said they found this increased involvement in caring for their loved one was a positive experience
- Senior leaders worked with the wider health community to help develop and improve their service along with its future vision and strategy
- Staff supported families and loved ones by offering emotional support. Relatives said how they had been supported by hospice staff and could not have asked for any more support. Relatives who were children or had specific needs or learning difficulties or were particularly anxious, were supported to visit their relative in the hospice unit
- Staff cared enough to think about patient preferences outside of their working hours. Inspectors saw staff bring favourite snacks in for patients because they had seen the snacks at the local shop and knew what patients liked
- Staff talked with patients, families and carers in a way they could understand, using communication aids where necessary.
Full details of the inspection are given in the report published on our website.
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