Strathcarron Hospice at Home Service has been graded a six – ‘excellent’ – during a recent visit by the Care Inspectorate.
The grading was awarded following the unannounced inspection which included staff, patients and their family members being asked about their experiences of Hospice at Home.
It is the sixth year in a row the service has been given a ‘six’ grading of excellent since Hospice at Home was launched 10 years ago.
Strathcarron Hospice at Home service provides end of life care across our local communities. This personal, practical and emotional support is free for all residents of Forth Valley, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth within their own homes in the last few days or weeks of life, seven days a week.
The team comprises of health care assistants with specific experience and training in palliative and end of life care supported by nursing staff and the wider services within the Hospice.
The service was fully funded by the Big Lottery for the first five years and now relies on the amazing generosity of our local community to fund it.
Strathcarron is Scotland’s largest independent Hospice.
Denise Charity, Lead Nurse for Hospice at Home, said: “The outcome of this report is wonderful recognition for the team and it’s fantastic to know we’ve been so highly commended. It’s a testament to the staff and all the work that they do in meeting the demands of our service as part of the wider multi-disciplinary team at the Hospice.
“Eighty percent of Strathcarron’s services are within the community and it is a real privilege to be welcomed into people’s homes. Our staff pride themselves in their professionalism and in building a close rapport with the people they support.
“Palliative and end of life care is physically and emotionally complex, and each person that Strathcarron Hospice at Home service supports has their needs centred at the heart of these conversations.
“The nursing and health care assistant teams listen, care and respect people’s physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual needs. This holistic approach allows people to have choices, and positive perspectives to live the best quality of life possible, enabling them to die at home, as is their wish.”
Hospice at Home reduces the number of days a dying person spends in hospital in the final two weeks of their life by an average of six, compared to people dying from the same conditions across Forth Valley without Hospice at Home support. It also cut A&E attendances and ambulance callouts.
At a time when demand for hospital beds is far outstripping supply, the advantage of Hospice at Home is that it can free up beds in the NHS for other patients.
The Care Inspectorate report highlighted:
- The service acted quickly to provide support to service users.
- People were kept safe because the service had effective recruitment practices in place with a strong emphasis on value-based recruitment.
- There was a clear link between the needs of people using the service and the skills and experience of staff being recruited.
- Feedback about the staff from people who used the service and their relatives was very positive.
- Staff had access to notes from other professionals so they had live information about who was involved in people’s care. This meant people could expect to experience consistency and continuity from different teams who worked well together
Feedback about Hospice at Home included:
“The care our (relative) had was exceptional. The Hospice at Home team went over and above every time they visited. They made this very stressful and upsetting time so much easier.” Family member
“Amazing feedback from service users and their families about the service Hospice at Home provides.” External health care professional.
“I’ve had to liaise with this service to organise discharges and this is done with respect and dignity. The staff keep in touch and provide excellent communication skills and keep you updated.” External health care professional
“Exceptional care, it brightened our last days. He was reluctant to accept help but the care brightened his mind and body at the end. He thoroughly enjoyed the care that he received.” Family member
“As a family, we are very grateful for the care and support from Hospice at Home. The experience of death would have been much harder without Hospice at Home input.” Family member
Specialist Care
Strathcarron Hospice has to raise £16,637 daily to provide all the specialist end of life care services to individuals and their families across its communities. Only around a third of the costs of running the Hospice services are provided via NHS funding, the remaining amount is generated through donations.
Hospice at Home costs £601,508 per annum and saves an average of six NHS hospital bed days at (approx.) £634 a day per patient episode. The cost to care for a Hospice at Home patient in their own home (based on an average 6 days) is £1,959. This costs breaks down to £326 per patient, per day.
For more information about the Hospice services or make a donation to support our work visit www.StrathcarronHospice.net
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Strathcarron is Scotland’s largest independent Hospice.
We support people across Forth Valley, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth living with a life limiting condition. We help to make every moment count for patients and their families, so that they can live well with their illness and make the most of the time they have, and when the time comes, to die well.
Strathcarron Hospice needs to raise around £116,000 a week to provide all their services, which are free to those who use them across our local communities.
As well as In- Patient and Hospice at Home care, our highly skilled multidisciplinary teams include Nursing teams, Patient and Family Support (social work), Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Pharmacist, Chaplains, Complementary Therapists, Consultants in Palliative Medicine and Specialty Doctors.
As a charity, Strathcarron Hospice is funded by the people we serve. They walk, run, cycle, jump, bake and go to many other amazing efforts to fundraise for their local Hospice. Strathcarron simply cannot continue delivering our valuable services free of charge, without the ongoing support of our communities.
With only one third of our hospice funded by the Government, we are incredibly grateful to our generous supporters who make up the significant shortfall.
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