The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the quality of care provided by Marie Curie Hospice Newcastle to be ‘Outstanding’ overall following an inspection in June 2016.
The Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle provides specialist care for people with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. The Newcastle hospice provides in-patient care, day care, out-patient support and short breaks. The hospice is registered for 22 people with 20 people receiving treatment when inspectors visited.
The hospice was rated Outstanding for being effective, caring and well-led, and Good for safe and responsive.
Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, said:
“We found the care provided at Marie Curie Hospice Newcastle to be outstanding. The staff should feel proud of the work they do and for the excellent level of person-centred care the staff are providing with the residents.
“What really struck us about this service was the level of personalised and innovative care that people received. We found numerous examples where staff had gone the extra mile to meet people's wishes and create special memories for relatives. For example, arranging weddings, other celebrations and supporting people to attend events or fulfil their wishes.
“Whilst this should be standard practice across the sector, we do not see it often enough and this, amongst other good practice found, is why this service deserves the outstanding rating which has been awarded.
“People should always be cared for by services that are safe, effective, caring, responsive to their needs, and well-led. I would encourage other providers to read this report, and the others we have published on services we have rated Outstanding, to see what they can learn.”
A full report of the inspection has been published today.
The report highlights a number of areas of outstanding practice.
The hospice excelled at providing people with person-centred care that met all of their needs, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Dedicated, committed and compassionate staff provided care that maintained people's dignity and respect.
One person told us, "Its Brilliant, [I am] happy to be here and staff are happy to
help." Another person said, "I am having an absolutely marvellous time, I came in a week ago and wanted to crawl into a hole. This week I feel so much better."
The hospice was keen to not be a stand-alone service and had developed string partnerships with other organisations. They also took part in research projects to help advance palliative care.
Daily handover meetings and the weekly multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meeting ensured all people were discussed in-depth by a range of professionals. Care and treatment was evaluated every day to reflect people's changing needs.
Ends
For further information, please contact Kerri James, CQC Regional Engagement Communications Officer by email kerri.james@cqc.org.uk or by phone on 07464 92 9966.