Kirkwood Hospice

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs. At our last inspection we rated this key question good. At this inspection, the rating has remained good confirming that services were tailored to meet individual needs, ensuring flexibility, choice, and continuity of care.

The service moved from a 'Just Culture' to ‘Our Culture, Our Care,’ A just culture means staff can report mistakes without fear or unfair blame so lessons can be learned to improve safety and care. ‘Our Culture, Our Care,’ set clear standards for staff to deliver consistent, responsive, and personalised care. Care was calm, respectful, anticipatory, and supportive, with relatives providing consistently positive feedback.

Kirkwood Hospice tailored services to meet individual and community needs, prioritising inclusivity, and accessibility. Detailed care plans reflected responsiveness to diverse requirements, supported by effective collaboration with local health and social care partners. Outreach to faith leaders and LGBTQ+ groups showed a commitment to diverse populations. Translation services and communication aids were available.

The service demonstrated a strong understanding of diverse health and care needs, delivering integrated, flexible care that supported choice and continuity. People received accurate, up-to-date information and were encouraged to provide feedback, ideas, and complaints, which were used for learning and improvement. Kirkwood Hospice was fully accessible, with services available to all. Staff received advanced communication training for end-of-life conversations, enhancing available support.

This service scored 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Kirkwood Hospice understood the preferences of diverse groups, ensuring care was accessible, promoted equality, and met the needs of individuals with protected characteristics under the Equality Act, those nearing end-of-life, people in vulnerable circumstances or with complex needs.

Staff engaged in meaningful conversations to identify what mattered most, documenting individual support needs. Feedback consistently praised the exceptional care quality. One person told us, “The staff are angels without wings. They took time to talk, learn about me, my background, and know my likes and dislikes.” Another shared, “All staff are brilliant, caring, helpful, and courteous, they are doing an excellent job.”

The volunteering team maintained strong community ties, working with schools, universities, and businesses to support The Kirkwood Movement and boost community involvement reflecting individual identity and values, and creating continuity and familiarity. This variety allowed personalised experiences that aligned with each person’s preference, hobbies, or background. A nurse-led ‘patient safety walk round’ initiative ensured daily engagement with those at the service. The nurse in charge introduced themselves, addressed concerns, and promoted continuous improvement.

The waiting areas were described by people as quiet, private, and clean, with multiple spaces for family time. A designated room for children and young people supplied toys, arts and crafts, and a Nintendo Wii. Staff reported using the garden and games room to support children when difficult conversations occurred.

Additional features included a Light of Life tree, Dedication Tree, and flagstones with personal messages, enhancing the emotional support offered. A separate counselling and wellbeing building was available on site.

Kirkwood Hospice demonstrated a strong understanding of the diverse health and care needs of local communities. While the service recognised the need for further engagement with seldom heard communities, it actively collaborated with local community groups and held public events to demystify end of life care and the services they could offer.

People can access services and appointments in a way and at a time that suits them. Technology is used innovatively to ensure people have timely access to treatment, support, and care.

The community palliative care team, worked closely with the MDT to ensure care was well-coordinated and joined up. They collaborated with external services and partners, involving them in discussions and decisions about future care for people, including transitions to other care providers.

By addressing diverse community needs and ensuring unified care transitions, Kirkwood Hospice provided high-quality, person-centred care that supported continuity and coordination across its services.

People reported that staff engaged them in comprehensive discussions about their care. One told us, “There is always a full discussion about any decisions made and doctors always allow me time to ask questions.” Another said, “The doctors discuss matters with me every day and tell me what options I have about my care.”

The SLT were actively involved in staff education and were developing online accessible training modules, to further enhance communication support. Additionally, staff had access to translation services via telephone, video-call, or face-to-face interactions, as well as British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters.

Staff demonstrated excellent knowledge of peoples’ needs, using tailored techniques to reassure and calm those using the service, prioritising non-medication approaches where appropriate including complementary therapies, breathing techniques, and mindfulness. This reflected a deep understanding of preferences and requirements, ensuring information was delivered in a supportive and person-centred manner.

Kirkwood Hospice actively encouraged and supported people using the service to provide feedback on care, ensuring their voices were heard and valued. The service sought feedback from people using the services, staff, and community professionals through various methods, with responses reviewed being overwhelmingly positive.

Accessible feedback channels had been implemented, including a QR code system that people could scan to submit compliments, comments, and suggestions via an online form. During the admission process, people were encouraged to initially raise concerns with any staff member. If unresolved, people could escalate concerns through a formal complaint process via letter or email. Information about these processes was prominently displayed throughout the service, ensuring transparency and accessibility.

The service viewed concerns and complaints as opportunities for learning and improvement. There were five complaints between 1 April 2024 and 28 February 2025, resulting in positive outcomes and actionable learning. Improvements included enhanced communication between delivery teams and policy updates clarifying responsibilities, agreed triggers, and expectations for different roles.

The service had partnered with an external organisation to increase response rates and implement a live, accessible feedback dashboard. This real-time system was available to all teams and included alerts for responses requiring immediate attention, ensuring timely, person centred action and continuous service improvement. This also facilitated timely sharing of positive feedback with staff, boosting morale and reinforcing good practice. A quarterly patient feedback report was produced to further analyse and act on trends. Evidence of this was provided to the inspection team.

Kirkwood Hospice demonstrated a commitment to ensuring equitable access to its services for all members of the community, with targeted efforts to address disparities in service uptake among local ethnic populations.

Staff identified that the demographic profile of patients accessing the IPU did not fully reflect the local ethnic population. In response, a detailed data review was conducted, identifying actions to enhance engagement with underrepresented communities.

The spiritual care team also extended their services to the community and ensured holistic support was accessible regardless of location.

The service participated in initiatives to enhance equity in access, including the DAPPLE project and the Palliative Care Outcomes Registry as part of the RESOLVE research programme. RESOLVE focuses on implementing person-centred outcome measures in palliative care, identifying barriers to access, and informing future care directions. Additionally, they contributed to the LeDeR programme, a national initiative aimed at improving care, reducing health inequalities, and preventing premature mortality for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. People with learning disabilities were actively involved in the design and development of information leaflets, ensuring content was accessible, inclusive, and reflective of their needs and perspectives.

The service sought to address barriers to improve people’s experiences and outcomes, acting on feedback and data to allocate resources and opportunities effectively to achieve equity.

One of the three core priorities underpinning The Kirkwood’s mission was to extend its reach to marginalised groups within the community. They actively engaged with these groups through community outreach, education, partnership working, and a willingness to learn. This approach ensured that services were tailored to meet diverse needs and promote equitable experiences and outcomes.

The service collaborated with faith organisations and supported homeless people in accessing end-of-life care. Confidentiality was upheld, with staff adhering to policies to protect sensitive information while sharing necessary details appropriately. People were supported to engage with their religious communities through online services and visits. The spiritual team provided companionship, dedicating time to listen and engage with those using the services.

Kirkwood Hospice recognised the lower-than-average life expectancy of homeless people in Kirklees and initiated a targeted project to engage this population.

In partnership with Huddersfield Mission, they launched a weekly drop-in session at the Mission Cafe to improve palliative care support for homeless and vulnerable people. This initiative provided access to advice and support, removing barriers to care and amplifying the voices of those who are seldom heard. Staff told us, “We are passionate about making a positive difference for people who are vulnerable, and we are delighted to be working with the team to ensure that anyone who needs our help can get it.” Feedback from the community highlighted the success of this outreach programme: “You can’t pin some of our guys down for appointments, but knowing the team are here every week has made it so simple for them. If they need help, they know where to come.” The programme has been highly successful, significantly improving access and outcomes for people in Kirklees.

The range of services and project work undertaken evidenced a proactive and responsive approach to meeting diverse needs. By acting on information about people’s experiences and outcomes, resources were allocated effectively to ensure equitable care delivery across its service area. Barriers to accessing care had been identified by engaging with groups and creating partnerships.

Kirkwood Hospice provided specialist support to people at the earliest opportunity to plan for future care needs, ensuring advanced care planning and preparation empowered individuals to make informed choices based on their wishes and preferences. One person told us, “The hospice focused on life left,” highlighting the service’s emphasis on enhancing quality of life. Staff worked closely with people to develop personalised plans, encouraging the completion of a planning document to capture wishes and preferences.

To enhance support for these discussions, staff were provided with an advanced communications course focused on end-of-life conversations. This training equipped staff to facilitate sensitive and meaningful discussions, ensuring people felt supported.

The service supported people in celebrating significant life events. Examples included arranging birthdays or other milestones earlier to accommodate peoples’ conditions and fulfilling a wish for a wedding, organised at short notice.

Staff told us they took pride in supporting families to provide personal care at the end of life, including facilitating customs or rites as requested.