- Hospice service
The Shakespeare Hospice
Assessment report published 20 May 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
We carried out this inspection because the service had not been inspected since 2016.
The Shakespeare Hospice provided care and treatment to people over the age of 18 with life limiting conditions who required specialist palliative and end of life care from the hospice at home service.
The hospice also provided a patient and carer wellbeing service to enable people with life limiting conditions to live independently in their own homes and communities. This aspect of the service included providing education and information to empower people and their loved ones to engage in difficult conversations about death and dying and advance care planning. Peer support sessions, nurse led face to face and telephone support, alternative therapies, counselling services, and a range of meaningful small group activities, for example art and gardening were offered.
At the time of our inspection the hospice was providing care to 67 patients, 2 of whom were actively dying and being provided daily hospice at home care.
A team of 2 inspectors, and an independent specialist advisor visited the Shakespeare Hospice on 2 December 2025. One CQC inspector returned to complete the inspection on 13 January 2026. We spoke with 17 members of staff (including managers, nurses, nursing assistants, administrative staff, volunteers, and a student). We spoke to 5 patients, 5 relatives and carers, and 1 healthcare professional working alongside the team in the community.
We rated safe, effective and well-led good, and caring and responsive outstanding.
Safe has been rated good. Safety was a priority for everyone, and leaders embedded a culture of openness and collaboration. People were safe and protected and safeguarded. When people raised concerns about safety, the primary response was to learn and improve. Leaders ensured there were enough skilled staff to deliver safe care that promoted choice and people’s wellbeing.
Effective has been rated good. Staff worked towards giving people and communities the best possible outcomes by assuring their needs were assessed. Their care, support and treatment reflected these needs and any protected equality characteristics. Services work in harmony with people at the centre of their care. Leaders instilled a culture of improvement, where understanding current outcomes and exploring best practice was part of everyday work.
Caring has been rated outstanding. This was because people were always treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. People understood that they mattered and their experience of how they were treated and supported mattered. Their privacy and dignity was respected. Every effort was made to take people’s wishes into account and respect their choices, to achieve the best possible outcomes for them.
Responsive has been rated outstanding. Patients and communities were at the centre of how care was planned and delivered. The health and care needs of people and communities were understood, and they were involved in planning care that meet those needs. Care, support and treatment was easily accessible, including physical access. Patients could access care in ways that met their personal circumstances and protected equality characteristics.
Well-led has been rated good. The service had governance structures that were used to improve the performance of the service and ensured the delivery of safe care and treatment. There was an inclusive and positive culture of continuous learning and improvement. This was based on meeting the needs of people who use services and wider communities. Leaders proactively supported staff and collaborated with partners to deliver care that was integrated, person-centred and sustainable, and reduced inequalities.
People’s view of the service
Feedback from patients and their family and carers was positive about staff treating them with warmth and kindness and providing effective care and treatment. People told us the provider operated a caring and responsive service that maximised people’s independence and their wellbeing. People described staff as caring and compassionate and made comments such as, “They are amazing. They are just the gentlest people I've ever come across. I call them my angels”.