Updated 16 June 2025
Zoe's Place Baby Hospice supported babies, infants and children who had a life limiting and life-threatening conditions. The service was nurse lead and provided individualised care for up to 6 babies or children at any one time. They offered short breaks (respite care), end of life care, and after life care.
Respite care provides temporary relief to parents or other primary caregivers by allowing the caregivers to take a break from providing continuous care.
At the time of our inspection the service was in breach of their conditions of registration. The service was registered to provide care to babies and children from the age of 0 to 5. However, the service was delivering respite care to children up to the age of 7.
This assessment was carried out because of the age of the rating.
A team of 1 CQC inspector, and 1 specialist advisor visited the service on 22 July 2025. We spoke with 7 staff (including nurses, managers, and administrative staff), and 5 parents and carers. The service regularly provided respite care to 39 babies, infants and children. On the day of our inspection 1 baby and 2 children were receiving respite care. Our observations of the care of these 3 children formed part of our overall findings and contributed towards the rating.
We rated safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led as good.
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. Where people raised concerns about safety, the primary response was to learn and improve. Leaders ensured staff were experienced and skilled to deliver safe care that promoted choice and people’s wellbeing.
Effective has been rated as good. Staff worked towards giving children, their families, 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 worked in harmony, with children at the centre of their care and their families. Leaders instilled a culture of improvement, and exploring best practice was part of everyday work.
Caring has been rated good. This was because babies, children and their families were always treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. People understood that their experience of how they were treated and supported mattered. Their privacy and dignity was respected. Every effort was made to take their wishes into account and respect their choices, to achieve the best possible outcomes for them.
Responsive has been rated as good. Children, their families and communities were at the centre of how care was planned and delivered. The health and care needs of children, their families and communities were understood, and they were involved in planning care that met those needs. There was partnership working to make sure that care and treatment met the diverse needs of communities. However, the service was only being delivered for approximately half the hours it was intended to provide.
Well-led has been rated good. The service mostly had good governance structures that were used to improve the performance of the service and ensured the delivery of safe care and treatment. There was a 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 reduced inequalities.