East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) have been rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
All three of the charity’s hospices – Milton, The Treehouse and The Nook – have received the highest possible rating from the regulator following their inspections in January.
The CQC’s feedback included praise for the staff; the inspectors’ summary of The Nook began with: “Staff consistently treated patients and their families with compassion and kindness, respected their dignity and privacy, and went above and beyond expectations to meet their individual needs and wishes.”
Tracy Rennie, the charity’s Acting Chief Executive, said: “I’m so proud of all our staff and volunteers. Everyone has a part to play in making sure children and families get the care they need. It’s not only the care staff, but everyone who contributes to make EACH the organisation it is. This huge achievement is testament to their commitment to be the best in all they do and I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly thank them.”
Tracy also commented on the challenges the hospice is facing in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic: “This has been wonderful news to receive in uncertain times. To protect the vulnerable children who use our service and to reduce the spread of the virus, we’ve suspended some of the care we offer. Short-break care and wellbeing therapies, wellbeing groups and events, face-to-face counselling, care of the child’s body after they have died and our Help at Home volunteering service have all been stopped. Visitors to the hospices are restricted so that only the parents or main carers of children receiving care can enter.
“While for now we focus on providing end-of-life care and bereavement support, working closely with the NHS to provide capacity to care for the sickest children and responding to urgent requests for care and support as best we can, once it is safe to do so we must be able to start offering our care service in full again.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our supporters who continue to support us at this time. We rely on voluntary donations for the majority of our income, meaning our staff are only able to deliver this outstanding care because of the equally outstanding local communities.
“Just over a week ago, we launched an appeal to replace the £1.8m voluntary income we expect to lose over the next 12 weeks, following the closure of all our shops and cancellation of fundraising activities.
“Unlike hospitals, we rely on the generosity of the public to fund our service. Together we can make sure our vital care and support is still available for the children, young people and their families who need us during and beyond this most challenging of times.”
CQC inspections are currently on hold due to the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information visit EACH
Leave a Reply