The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the quality of care provided by St Leonard’s Hospice in York to be outstanding following an inspection in July this year.
St. Leonard's Hospice York provides a 20 bed in-patient hospice care unit and a hospice-at-home service which are regulated by CQC. The Sunflower Centre, which is the day hospice is not regulated by CQC but all three services are based on one site. There is also a hospice-at-home team who provide hospice care in the community. The care provided by the hospice is for people that live in the York area of North Yorkshire and Ryedale and some parts of the East Riding of Yorkshire.
The service was rated Outstanding for being effective and well-led and Good for being safe, caring and responsive making them Outstanding overall.
Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care in the North, said:
“We found the quality of care provided at St Leonard’s Hospice, York to be outstanding.
“What really struck us about this service was how person-centred it was. Without exception, people and their relatives spoke extremely highly of staff and their experiences of care at St Leonard’s. We saw that end of life care plans were very detailed and were not only making a difference to the people using the service, but also their relatives.
“People were given real choices about every aspect of their care from medication, to the food they ate, which empowered people, giving them control and dignity at this very difficult time in their lives.
“It was impressive to see how well-led St Leonard’s was. There was a real open and inclusive culture at the hospice, and we saw staff with similar values working together to create something special and build on it. Staff were always looking for learning points and where any mistakes had been made, they were always discussed and reflected upon in order to make improvements.
“The whole team should be very proud of the service they are providing.”
A full report of the inspection has been published.
The report highlights a number of areas of outstanding practice.
- There were appropriate systems in place to ensure flexibility to people so that their care needs could be met either at home, in the hospice or in the wider community. In addition the service provided good support to relatives and carers.
- Inspectors saw a beautiful, well-maintained environment that was extremely clean and tidy. There were appropriate adaptations in place for people who used the service and the gardens offered people tranquil and pleasant areas in which to sit, chat and spend time with their loved ones.
- There were a high number of staff on duty to meet people's needs in a meaningful way and the service had a team of volunteers who provided additional support. The hospice also had a bank of staff who they could contact if they needed additional staff. Staff and volunteers received a thorough induction and regular training to ensure they had the knowledge and skills to deliver high quality care which they demonstrated throughout the inspection.
- People were supported to receive a nutritious diet at the service. Their appetite was assessed through talking with them which led to staff being able to give the person the amount and type of food they would be able to eat. There was a choice of menu on the day of inspection and the meals that inspectors saw were of a high quality with drinks and snacks freely available.
Ends
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People were given real choices about every aspect of their care from medication, to the food they ate, which empowered people, giving them control and dignity at this very difficult time in their lives.
Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care in the North