We carried out a review of the data available to us about St Ann's Hospice Little Hulton on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about St Ann's Hospice Little Hulton, you can give feedback on this service.
Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as outstanding because:
We found areas of good practice:
St Ann's Hospice is situated in the Little Hulton area of Salford, Greater Manchester and is registered as a charity. The hospice provides palliative and supportive care services to people with life limiting illnesses. Services provided include Hospice at Home, day therapy, inpatient care and a CSPCT (Community Specialist Palliative Care Team). An extensive garden area is available for the benefit of patients and visitors. Off street car parking is available and the location is well served by public transport routes.
St Ann’s Hospice is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide care for up to 18 people on the inpatient unit. At the time of our inspection there were 12 people being cared for on the inpatient Unit and approximately 250 people receiving care and support in the community. Of these 250 people, the manager told us that provision of personal care was limited.
There was a registered manager employed at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People told us they felt safe when accessing services provided by the hospice. People who used the hospice told us staff would not hesitate to go the extra mile when caring for them. We saw the importance staff at the hospice placed on supporting families and carers of people with life- limiting illnesses in order to improve the well-being of all concerned. This included the provision of carer and bereavement support, complementary therapies and counselling.
Staff treated people with sensitivity, dignity and respect. People's emotional and spiritual needs were met by staff who were knowledgeable and confident to care for and comfort them. Families and those that mattered to the person were supported to spend quality time with them.
All staff had received training in safeguarding adults. In addition the hospice had developed a culture in which staff were supported to report any concerns, no matter how small, to senior staff.
There were sufficient numbers of staff available to provide tailored, individual support to people, both in the hospice and in the community. Staff and volunteers had been safely recruited, such as ensuring DBS (Disclosure Barring Service Checks) were in place.
People received excellent care, based on best practice from an experienced and consistent staff team. Staff were supported through training to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to be able to meet people's needs in an individualised manner.
All staff and volunteers completed a comprehensive induction programme. Staff were expected to complete online training to demonstrate knowledge in all the topics covered. A comprehensive training programme was also in place to help ensure staff had the skills they required to communicate effectively with people who used the hospice, families and professionals.
Good systems were in place to ensure the safe handling of medicines. People were cared for in a safe, secure and clean environment. People were protected because risks were identified and managed. The risks of cross infection for people were reduced through training for staff and robust infection control procedures. There were high quality fixtures and fittings throughout the building, ensuring people’s comfort and privacy was catered for.
People had access to high quality food and their nutritional and hydration needs were met by excellent catering services. We noted there was a commitment to further improving the range of meal options available to people throughout the day and we saw catering staff asking people for their preferred choice of food and drink.
People's legal rights were respected because staff understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People knew how to complain and were confident any concerns would be taken seriously. Staff were committed to learning and responding to people's feedback and experiences.
People who used the hospice were supported to make choices and to have as much control as possible about what happened to them both before and after their death. They and their family members were consulted and involved in planning their care. People were also supported to discuss and make decisions on their preferred place of care at the end of their life. Staff were aware of the action to take to uphold a person’s rights should they be unable to consent to their care and treatment in the hospice. The skills staff developed through the hospice’s innovative communication training programme enabled them to have difficult conversations with people in a sensitive and caring manner.
The hospice was proactive in reaching out to communities who did not traditionally access their services, including people who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and people from minority ethnic communities.
People told us the leadership team in the hospice were excellent in the care and support they offered to staff, volunteers and everyone who accessed the service. We were told there was an open and transparent culture in the hospice which encouraged people to express any concerns or complaints they had.
People received a consistently high quality of care because senior staff led by example and set high expectations about standards of care. Staff and volunteers spoke positively and passionately about working at the hospice. They told us they received excellent support and guidance from all the managers in the service. We saw staff had regular team meetings and other informal opportunities to enable them share good practice.
The leadership team in the hospice demonstrated a commitment to service improvement. Staff, volunteers and people who used the hospice were regularly asked for their views and ideas about improvements which they felt could be made. We saw that action had been taken to respond to ideas and suggestions people had made. This demonstrated people who used the service, their families and carers, staff and volunteers were all involved in shaping the future of the service.
There were robust systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided in the hospice; these included lessons learned sessions from accidents, incidents or complaints, which were shared across the service.
During our inspection, patients made positive comments about the service they received whilst at the hospice. The people we spoke with told us they were comfortable and their pain was well managed. Comments included; 'The hospice is fantastic. Staff help me with personal care and keep my pain under control. The staff are brilliant and the food is fantastic' and 'I have been very well looked after since I have been here. I get treated with respect and would definitely recommend it to other people and their families'.
We looked at how patients were involved in the care they received and if they were treated with dignity and respect my staff. One patient told us; 'Staff treat you so well here. Thankfully I can still do things for myself but staff recognise that and allow me to have a go on my own first'.
We spent some time speaking with the lead for infection control and found the premises were clean, tidy and odour free. We also checked equipment was fit for purpose and available in appropriate quantities. We found equipment had been serviced regularly and stored safely.
We found there were appropriate systems in place to monitor the quality of service provided. This included regular auditing and the use of patient surveys which were analysed.
Throughout the course of the inspection we found that people had been well cared for and that they were comfortable, relaxed and that their pain had been managed appropriately. We also saw through discussions, how families had been made to feel at ease through the quality of service that had been provided.
As part of the inspection we spoke with four people using the service who all spoke very highly about the care that they had received during their time at the hospice. One person told us 'They help me with everything, I only have to ask the staff and they will assist me with what I need. I only arrived at the hospice last week and I can't fault it so far'. Another person who used the service said 'Nothing is ever too much' and 'They go over and above'.
We also spoke with five relatives who were visiting on the day of the inspection and their feedback was also positive. One relative told us 'I feel so re-assured now that my 'x' is being looked after here' and 'I had been struggling to find a specific Christmas gift recently and the staff helped to find it. It meant going out of their way, but that is just how they are here'.