Hospice of the Good Shepherd

Updated 29 June 2026

The Hospice of the Good Shepherd is located in a rural village setting and operates from a purpose-built facility. It provides a range of services including inpatient, outpatient, day therapy, and counselling support. There are 10 inpatient beds, alongside a variety of day services, many of which are currently delivered remotely through a dedicated wellbeing centre. The service supports adults aged 18 and over with incurable, life-limiting illnesses, as well as their families. The wellbeing centre functions as the main hub for day services and outpatient clinics.

At our last inspection in August 2024, we rated the Hospice of the Good Shepherd as requires improvement. The service was in breach of regulation for safe care and treatment.

The date of assessment: 10 and 11 March 2026. At this assessment we rated the service as outstanding. We found there was enough skilled and experienced medical staff working at the service. The service involved people and provided continuity of care and routinely monitored peoples' care and treatment. We reviewed the responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and governance systems to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment, and support.

During the assessment period, we spoke with a range of staff, including nurses and doctors, support staff, and senior leaders. We reviewed patient, staff, and stakeholder feedback, and looked at a sample of patient care records and staff recruitment files, as well as other data provided by the hospice.

Updated 29 June 2026

We spoke with 2 patients during the assessments and reviewed compliments, complaints, patient surveys, and patient feedback provided by the service. We saw that between February 2025, and March 2026 the hospice had received 217 patient and family compliments in the form of cards, letters, and flowers to the inpatient unit.

The inpatient survey highlighted that 100% of responses had marked overall experience as outstanding (87%) or good (13%), with all patients who participated in the survey stating they were extremely likely to recommend to friends or family.

Feedback included “every single one of them who looked after my beautiful daughter treated her like family. They looked after her through highs and lows and gave full support to [daughter] and her frightened family.”

We received a number of responses from stakeholder questionnaires. Stakeholders reported effective integrated partnership working with the Hospice across hospice, community, primary care, and acute services to benefit patients. Communication between teams was described as proactive and patient-focused, supporting continuity of care and reducing duplication for patients and families. There was collaborative care planning, responsive management of changing needs, and a strong commitment to supporting patient choice and coordinated care across settings”.