Halton Haven Hospice is a local charity that provides specialist palliative care, advice and clinical support for adults with life limiting illness and their families in the Widnes, Runcorn and surrounding areas. They deliver physical, emotional and holistic care through teams of doctors, nurses, counsellors, chaplains and other professionals including therapists and social workers. The service cares for people in two types of settings one at the hospice in a 12 bed 'In-Patient Unit' and the hospice also has a day hospice. The day service provides therapeutic support for patients and their carers who are living at home, and aim to maximise their independence and quality of life. Services are free to people and the Hospice is largely dependent on donations and fund-raising by volunteers in the community.

It was an unannounced inspection. There were six inpatients at the hospice on the day of our visit. The day hospice was not open . A further two days were spent speaking to patients and relatives via telephone to gain their views on 24 and 29 March 2016.

There was a manager in post who was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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. The registered manager was also the director of care and operational services and oversaw the running of the service.

We found the ethos and culture of Halton Haven Hospice was positive and caring and staff spoken with were passionate about working at the hospice. They spoke of the importance of treating each patient as an individual which showed us that some aspects of the hospice were outstanding. They supported family and friends of patients with support networks and an innovative and unique support for men in the form of a “mens shed ” which is the first of it’s type in England.

A further outstanding initiative that the hospice was involved with in the local community was working with “Night Stop” a charity for homeless people in Halton to provide information and support.

Staff we spoke with were committed to providing individual care to the patients and relatives who were attending the hospice and put them at the heart of everything. Best practice guidelines were followed to ensure patients received the best care staff could give and patients were well supported by experienced well trained staff. All staff spoken with said they had received good training to help them to understand and care for patients at the hospice.

The registered manager was open and transparent and held a vision for the service.

Staff had received up to date training in how to protect patients from abuse and harm and they knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to raise an alert if they had any concerns.

Patients we spoke with and their relatives felt that they and their loved ones were looked after by staff who were caring and had training so that they knew what they were doing.

Patients and relatives said the food was very good and there was always something to tempt patients if they were not feeling hungry. The menus were varied and alternatives were always available.

Care records showed that plans of care were person centred and reflected the needs of the individual. This ensured that patients were supported in the way they wanted to be.

The provider had effective procedures for ensuring that any concerns about patients safety were appropriately reported and were constantly striving for improvement.

Patients, relatives and staff felt that the home was very well managed. We found that all the staff team were well led and highly motivated to provide quality individual person centred care and all spoken with said they felt proud to work at Halton Haven Hospice.

Minor compla

Patient’s confirmed they were pleased with the standard of care they received from all the staff. Patients told us the nursing staff and medical staff were available at all times for support and to answer questions they had. They were overall very positive about the care and attention they were receiving. They made various positive comments such as: “We couldn’t be any better cared for the staff are wonderful” and “The staff are fantastic they discuss everything with you.”

Infection control procedures were in place to ensure continued good standards of hygiene which helped to minimise risks to patients’.

We looked at a number of records regarding the on-going management of the hospice to ensure patient safety. Records seen were kept secure, accurate, fit for purpose and managed effectively to protect the safety and well-being of the patient’s and others.

The hospice had a variety of information leaflets about the service available throughout the building including the reception area. The manager had displayed the results of a recent patient survey in reception to share with everyone the results of what people had told them. They also had 'a patient' comment box for anyone to make suggestions about the service at any time during their stay.

These initiatives helped to keep everyone informed about the hospice and also tried to include people's comments and suggestions in the on-going development of the hospice.

We spoke to a sample of two patients and one visitor who was visiting the service during our visit. They all told us they had no complaints and made various positive comments such as:

“It’s an amazing place here, the staff are very reassuring and are always introducing themselves and asking us if we need anything” and “We are more than happy with the service and the standard of care provided, we are touched by everyone’s kindness and patience, nothings too much trouble for them”. Everyone stated they were always consulted and they gave full consent about their treatment and check ups.

Patients told us they were given various information about their treatment. They understood the care and treatment available to them including the offer of alternative therapies such as ‘reflexology’ which they had “really enjoyed”.

The service had carried out a patient survey. Overall positive comments had been made such as:

“Cannot recommend the whole facility and staff highly enough”; “Every staff member showed the greatest respect” and “All staff were very patient focused and all very respectful of patients and relatives”.

The service provided ways for people to express their views and comments and this helped to inform the manager to review the hospices facilities.

An expert by experience accompanied us on this visit. An expert by experience has

personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses a health, mental health

and/or a social care service.They made observations and spoke to the people using the service, relatives, manager and staff.

The expert by experience found that the people using the service and relatives spoken with were very complimentary about the staff at the service and the care they provide. One person said "the staff were like friends to her."

The expert by experience observed that the staff treated the people using the service with dignity and respect. They reported that staff were dedicated to their role and that the staff interviewed said they have good support and training opportunities at the service. The expert by experience found the hospice to be "impeccably clean, warm and cozy."

Information gathered from results of questionnaires sent out by the hospice on a quaterly basis show that people using the service and their carers think that a good service is provided. They feel involved in assessments and consider the staff to be supportive and caring.

The following comments were gathered from the questionnaire results from August - October 2011:

“Halton Haven Hospice is a special place that I hope continues for many, many years to come.”

“All the staff were very friendly and informed me of everything they were doing.”

“My needs were definitely met. They always found time for me not just my relative. They really looked after me. So on the ball.”

“The care my relative received was excellent, we could not fault it. He was treated with dignity at all times.”