St Teresa’s Hospice provides in-patient care, a hospice at home service and a day hospice from one site. The day hospice services comprise disease-specific clinics and the hospice’s bespoke “Choices” programme (a nursing assessment, rehabilitation and social model). The Hospice at Home (planned) service is part of the community provision, which also incorporates a Rapid Response (unplanned) service to respond to patient or carer crisis and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions.

The Family Support Team is comprised of social workers and person-centred counsellors, offering patient and family support. The complementary therapies offered to patients and carers include aromatherapy massage, acupuncture and reflexology. The hospice has an Education Department, focussed on workforce development and spreading the hospice ethos. The hospice’s income generation team is based on site and all of the hospice’s services are supported by a dedicated team of almost 400 volunteers.

There were six people using the inpatient service on the day of our visit and approximately 16 people attending the day hospice facility. The Rapid Response team had an active caseload of eight people on the day of our visit.”

The care provided by the hospice is for people that live in the Darlington, South Durham and North Yorkshire areas. The service is a registered charity with a board of trustees. Day to day the service is run by a senior management team drawn from all departments within the hospice.

There was a registered manager employed for this service. 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. The registered manager was very experienced after being employed by the hospice for several years.

People and their families told us that staff were extremely caring , compassionate and listened to them. People we spoke with who received personal care felt the staff were knowledgeable, skilled and their care and support package met their needs not just in terms of physical care but also in relation to their emotional support. . Staff confirmed that they were not rushed and had time to provide the care people expected. People told us about the excellent care they received. People and professionals spoke very highly of the complementary therapies that were available to both people who used the service and relatives. The hospice provided excellent family support, counselling and bereavement support which people told us made a massive impact to their lives.

The staff undertook the management of medicines safely and in line with people’s care plans. The service had health and safety related procedures, including systems for reporting and recording accidents and incidents. The care records we looked at included risk assessments, which had been completed to identify any risks associated with delivering the person’s care and their environment. The hospice environment was well maintained and there were regular checks on safety and equipment.

People were protected by the service’s approach to safeguarding and whistle blowing. People who used the service told us that they were safe, could raise concerns if they needed to and were listened to by staff. Staff were aware of safeguarding procedures, could describe what they would do if they thought somebody was being mistreated and said that management listened and acted on staff feedback.

Staff recruitment processes were followed with the appropriate checks being carried out. There were sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s needs and the service had a team of volunteers who provided additional support. The hospice had a bank of staff who they could contact if they needed additional staff.

The service had an electronic

People we spoke with told us the service had met or exceeded their expectations. Comments included: “The staff have a really nice approach and put you at your ease”. Everyone we spoke with felt staff had been attentive to their needs and had responded quickly when they required assistance.

There was a range of patient and carer information booklets clearly displayed and accessible throughout the hospice. People felt they were treated with dignity and respect and welcomed the range of therapies and facilities provided.

People’s needs were being assessed and support plans put in place ensuring that people were provided with safe and effective care. The provider appropriately managed the medical equipment including medical devices in use at St Teresa’s Hospice.

We saw that the provider had a system in place for the quality checking of systems to manage risks and assure the health, welfare and safety of people who receive care were being met. People were protected from the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment because accurate and appropriate records were maintained

We were told that St Teresa’s Hospice had a day care service where people experienced social activities and a variety of treatments and therapies, including massage and acupuncture. The day care service offered 20 places a day, 4 days a week.

The hospice also offered a palliative home care service which provided personal care and support for people in their own homes.

We spoke with both people using the inpatient and day care services. People were overwhelmingly positive about the services they received. Their comments included:

“They keep me informed about everything, and the staff are so friendly.”

“It helps me feel secure about the future, I know the staff here and I know the care is excellent, so I’m not worried about if I come here as an inpatient.”

“I’ve been coming here once a week for seven years. I don’t know how I would have coped with everything that has happened without it.”

“The massage is wonderful.”

“The acupuncture is fantastic, I’ve had pain for years and it is the only thing that has ever made a difference.”

“The service they provide here is wonderful, they are always there when I need them. I’d never be able to get all of this on the NHS.”

“The staff are absolutely marvellous.”

“I can’t think of anything that they can improve on, the staff are lovely.”

“They ask us to fill in forms all the time about how things are going. I’m always very happy with the quality of care here.”

During this visit we spoke with around 12 people who were using the day therapy services, one person who was staying in the inpatient unit and a relative of someone who had received hospice at home support.

People told us they had been “fully informed” about the treatment and care they would receive. People told us they felt involved and included in their care planning.

All the people we spoke with were unanimous in their positive comments about all aspects of the service and support they received. People described the service as “wonderful”, “a lifeline”, and “11 out of 10”.

St Teresa’s employed a wide range of health and social care professionals who provided the assessment, care and treatment of people who used the service. All the people spoke with made many positive comments about the skills, expertise and professionalism of staff.

The hospice provided people with information about its complaints procedure. The complaints procedure was clear and easy to understand. There had been no complaints about the service.