• Hospice service

Mary Ann Evans Hospice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Eliot Way, George Eliot Hospital Site, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, CV10 7QL (024) 7686 5440

Provided and run by:
Mary Ann Evans Hospice

All Inspections

25 January 2023

During a routine inspection

Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as good because:

  • The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
  • Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, supported them to make decisions about their care and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
  • Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
  • The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it.
  • Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

13 August 2014

During a routine inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by Care Quality Commission (CQC) which looks at the overall quality of the service.

This was an announced inspection. Forty eight hours’ notice was given to the provider. This was because the hospice at home service is a community based service and we wanted to ensure the relevant staff were available to talk with us during our inspection.

Mary Ann Evans hospice provides a day care service for people with life limiting conditions, a hospice at home service for people moving towards the end of their lives, and a service to alleviate the symptoms for people with lymphoedema, a condition which can occur after cancer surgery or radiation therapy.

At the time of our inspection a registered manager was employed at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

People who used the hospice and their relatives told us they were happy with the services provided by the hospice. They felt the staff understood their needs and they felt safe.

People’s wishes and preferences were taken into account and recorded in care plans. Risk management procedures were in place to ensure people’s health risks were identified and plans were in place to manage those risks.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the needs of people with life limiting illness. They had received good training and support to meet people’s needs.

The organisation worked well with other health and social care providers to ensure people’s needs were met.

There were appropriate policies and procedures in place to support people should they ever have a need to complain or raise concerns. When concerns had been raised, they had been dealt with effectively.

There were systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of support provided for people.

1 August 2013

During a routine inspection

During our inspection we spoke with six people who were using the hospice. We also spoke with the registered manager, the staff nurse who is the clinical lead for the hospice, the facilities manager, a support worker, and two 'hospice at home' support workers.

The people we spoke with had given their consent to care and treatment based on the information they received. One person said, 'They explained everything.'

We saw that people's care plans were personalised and detailed. They included information about people's own priorities and preferences in respect of their care and treatment. People told us they enjoyed visiting the day hospice. One person commented, 'I can be myself here. Staff know how I feel.'

We were told that the staff and volunteers were very supportive and nothing was too much trouble. One person explained: 'I can't praise the staff here enough. They can't do enough for you.'

Staff we spoke with told us about their high level of job satisfaction. They said they felt well supported by the management team. They described the range of training available to them which enabled them to develop their knowledge of caring for people with a life limiting illness.

We looked at cleanliness and infection control. The hospice was very clean and had good systems in place to minimise the spread of infection.

There was a very relaxed atmosphere throughout our visit and staff and volunteers went about their duties in a happy and cheerful manner.

31 October 2012

During a routine inspection

There were six people using the hospice day service on the day of our inspection. We spoke with two people, the registered manager, a staff nurse and two care workers.

People told us that they were consulted about every aspect of their care. We saw that people were supported by a multidisciplinary team of health and social care professionals to ensure they had care tailored to meet their individual needs. Records showed extensive consultation and planning to ensure people's care was appropriate. One person told us "I look forward to coming here every week, they're a great team of people."

People told us there were lots of things to do and that they enjoyed all the activities and craft sessions available to them. One person commented, 'There is always something going on.'

We saw quality assurance systems in place which measured people's satisfaction with the service provided in the home. The service consulted with people to improve the care they offered. Audits of health and safety checks, risk assessments, care planning and other areas associated with the quality of care were in place. One person told us 'There is nothing too much trouble, they think about what is best for you.'

The staff we spoke with told us they were happy working at the hospice and felt well supported by the management team. We were told that training opportunities were frequent and planned to ensure staff had sufficient knowledge to meet people's needs.