The Peace Hospice
Quality Account 2014 - 2015
Peace Hospice Care is a centre of excellence dedicated
to improving the quality of life for patients and families
facing a life-limiting illness by providing care and
supporting them in the setting of their choice
Respecting the value of every life
www.peacehospicecare.org.uk
Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
Part 1
Chief Executive’s Statement
Welcome to our annual Quality Report for 2014/2015. The report provides you with a
summary of our performance against selected quality measures for 2013/14 and our
quality initiatives and priorities for 2014/15.
Our patients, their families, and carers are at the very centre of our care and delivering
quality services to them is our priority; the aim of this report is to reassure them
that our services are of the highest standard. The report is also important to assure
the general public, healthcare professionals, the local NHS organisations and other
organisations who contribute to our cost that we are making best use of every pound
we are given. Approximately 20% of our running costs come from the NHS and we raise
the additional money to pay for our services through fundraising and retail, such as
our events and Peace Hospice Care shops. We would like to thank the local community,
the people and organisations who donate money and fundraise on our behalf. Without
their help we would not be able to deliver our services.
The most recent Care Quality Commission’s unannounced visit in May 2013 identified no
shortfalls in the services we provide and indeed the inspector was very impressed with
the Hospice’s work. This is a real tribute to the hard work of our dedicated staff and
volunteers. The Trustees and I would like to thank each and every one of them for
their commitment and their part in delivering high quality care to our patients and
their families.
The quality of the care received by the patients, their families and carers are of utmost
importance to us at the Hospice and we seek comments and suggestions to inform
service developments and potential improvements. The Hospice has a culture of
continuous quality monitoring and its governance framework ensures the highest
standards of safety and robust processes and procedures to underpin our activities.
Over the last year we have consulted with patients, families and stakeholders and,
following their views, we changed our name to Peace Hospice Care as it more
appropriately represents the wide range of services we provide outside the
Hospice building.
We were fortunate to receive a grant from the Department of Health which allowed
us to refurbish the Inpatient Unit with a patient kitchen and communal lounge area
and a separate entrance for our newly launched day service facility, now known as the
‘Starlight Centre’. The environment has been substantially improved and feedback
from patients and families has been very positive.
Peace Hospice Care has a strategy which is focussed around ‘reaching more people’.
Further details on our priorities can be found on our website
www.peacehospicecare.org.uk
I am responsible for the preparation of this report and its contents. To the best of my
knowledge, the information reported in this Quality Account is accurate and a fair
representation of the quality of healthcare services provided by our Hospice.
Sue Plummer
Chief Executive – June 2014
Respecting the value of every life
Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
Part 1.1
Looking Forward:
Priorities for improvement 2014 – 2015
Peace Hospice Care is fully compliant with the Essential Standards of Quality and Safety
as set out in Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 and the
Health & Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010.
The Care Quality Commission most recently carried out an unannounced inspection in
May 2013, and assessed the following standards:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Respecting and involving people who use services
Care and welfare of people who use services
Safeguarding people who use services from abuse
Staffing
Complaints
Management of Medicines
All of these standards were found to be met, and as such, the Board did not have any
areas of regulatory shortfall to include in the priorities for improvement for 2014-2015.
Priorities of Care for 2014 - 15
We have identified the top 3 priorities to further improve the services delivered to our
patients and their relatives for the year 2014/2015. We have selected priorities that
will impact directly on each of the three domains of quality; patient safety, clinical
effectiveness and patient experience and they are:
Priority 1:
Patient Experience:
We plan to further involve people who have used our services in evaluating our existing
services and planning future ones.
How was this identified?
We have carried out questionnaires and interviews with people who have used our
services for many years. This year we plan to involve people to a greater extent.
This priority was identified from national plans for example the NHS document
Putting Patients First and from local initiatives.
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
How do we plan to achieve this?
People who have used our services:
• will be invited to join groups where new services are discussed and planned
• w
ill be invited to read and comment on leaflets about our services before going
to print
• will carry out the annual assessment of our care environment (PLACE)
• w
ill be asked to evaluate our services in different ways for example by completing
an electronic questionnaire enabling us to get immediate results
Priority 2: Patient Safety:
We plan to use national Quality Metrics data that we are collecting and submitting to
Help the Hospices, quarterly, as part of their National Benchmarking Programme to
compare ourselves with national and local hospices.
Locally, we will use this data and agreed service activity / workforce data to enable us
to judge how well we are doing compared to other similar organisations. It will also
allow us to learn from their good practice as well as sharing our own.
How was this identified?
The Quality Metrics data collection is a national quality initiative that we have been
participating in for several months. We are now making it a priority and will use it as
the main way to demonstrate to our stakeholders the safety and quality of our care.
Data collected will include:
The number of patient falls, pressure ulcers and the number of medicine incidents.
How do we plan to achieve this?
We will submit the Quality Metrics data quarterly to Help the Hospices. We will also
analyse the results and benchmark our practice nationally. In addition, this data will
be reviewed by the group of local hospices where we can discuss the results, learn from
other hospices’ best practice and share our own.
An example of this is when we identified last year that our monthly number of patient
falls had significantly increased, and so following a root cause analysis and comparison
with other hospices, a number of recommendations were implemented that has led to a
significant drop in the numbers of patient falls for 2013 - 2014.
We plan this year to place particular emphasis on reducing the number of pressure
ulcers that patients develop in our care. We have already made some changes to our
practice, and plan to make further improvements in the forthcoming year.
This data will be presented in our Quality Account for 2015 to demonstrate safe,
quality care.
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
Priority 3: Clinical Effectiveness
We plan to introduce a care plan called ‘The Individualised Care Plan for the
Dying Person’ as the replacement for the Liverpool Care Pathway (the document
used to record the care for a dying patient).
How was this identified?
As a result of the More Care, Less Pathway report from Baroness Neuberger last year,
the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) is being withdrawn on the 14th July 2014.
The Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People has identified five priority
areas for the care of dying people.
These are:
• The possibility that a person may die within the next few days or hours is recognised
and communicated clearly, decisions should be made and actions taken in
accordance with the person’s needs and wishes, and these are regularly reviewed
and decisions revised accordingly
• S ensitive communication takes place between staff and the person who is dying,
and those identified as important to them
• T he dying person, and those identified as important to them, are involved in
decisions about treatment and care to the extent that the dying person wants
• T he needs of families and others identified as important to the dying person are
actively explored, respected and met as far as possible
• A
n individual plan of care, which includes food and drink, symptom control and
psychological, social and spiritual support, is agreed, coordinated and delivered
with compassion
How do we plan to achieve this?
A working party set up by the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Specialist Palliative Care
Group has produced a template care plan called the “Individualised Care Plan for the
Dying Person” (that fulfils the 5 priority areas) for the management of the care of dying
people within the locality.
It is being piloted by the Inpatient Unit at Peace Hospice Care. The care plan will then
will be reviewed before it is finally implemented.
Respecting the value of every life
Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
Looking Back
Priorities for Improvement 2013-2014
In our last Quality Account we identified the following priorities for 2013-2014 and
below we report on progress made against these.
Priority 1: Patient Experience – Releasing time to care
How this was identified?
During a review of how staff spent their time in a typical week, it was identified that a
proportion of their time was spent on non-direct patient contact activities, for example,
internal meetings, administration and updating of patient records. We planned to
change this so that more time could be spent with patients and their families.
How we planned to achieve this
a) T o recruit to a new role of Community Liaison Coordinator. The key responsibility
was to provide a single point of contact for all our clinical referrals enabling prompt
decision making, improved communication and less duplication of work from
those involved
b)To review the patient record system and look for ways to simplify it so that less time
is spent at the computer whilst maintaining a high standard of information capture
c)To advertise more roles for patient-facing volunteers who have specific experience/
qualifications so that they can take on some aspects of patient care and
administration thus releasing time for other staff
d)What we said last year ’We will implement aspects of the productive ward used by
the NHS to streamline aspects of our services’ – for example, in the inpatient and
day services units we will introduce:
• E ffective handover – which will reduce the time spent communicating
information about patients from one shift to another
• A
“Patient status at a Glance” board – which will give key information about each
patient for staff to see “at a glance”, reducing the interruptions to other staff
caring for patients with requests for information
Achievements against our plans
a) T he Community Liaison Coordinator has now been in post for over a year and
has successfully improved the referrals process so that external health care
professionals now have only one point of contact for any of the clinical services.
As we hoped, this new role has meant that individual services now need to put
much less administrative effort into the process of triaging new patients.
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
b)We are in the process of changing our record system to make input more
straightforward and quicker. One example of a change already implemented is the
computerised recording of our medical assessments; we have altered this so that it
has more room for free text rather than requiring input into many specific fields.
This has allowed the doctors to spend more time with the patients on admission and
less time on the inputting of the data into our record system. We are now reviewing
our system of planning and recording care to ensure it is streamlined and efficient.
c)We have put a new process in place where roles that can be undertaken by a
volunteer are written up formally in a job profile clearly identifying the skills and
experience required for the role. This allows our volunteer team to match the details
of existing volunteers with these new roles and to be more specific about the job
requirements when seeking new volunteers. We have been successful in recruiting
to these new volunteer roles in our patient services. We have also introduced a
training programme for patient-facing volunteers and identified staff members as
“champions” to support their roles.
d)We have reviewed our systems for handing over patient information from one shift
to another to ensure that accurate and relevant information is communicated
between teams in a timely manner. The Inpatient Unit information display board has
also improved communication of information for support staff.
Priority 2: Patient safety/clinical effectiveness –
To strengthen the role of education in delivery of services
How this was identified:
The Hospice has always prioritised training requirements and supported the updating
of professional practice. However, last year we recognised that we needed to improve
our education and training.
How we planned to achieve this
a)We planned for the Practice Development Nurse (a new post) to make it a priority to
work with staff ensuring they are competent to carry out their required roles in all
the Hospice clinical settings
b) F or two of our skilled palliative care nurses (End of Life Care Facilitators), to teach
general nurses working in care homes, the community and hospitals about end of
life care (as part of a project)
c)To implement a new IT system to deliver some aspects of mandatory training.
This system is internet based and will mean that staff can, within certain
parameters, choose when they take a course. The training system will prompt staff
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
when they need to update mandatory training and will allow the training and
human resources staff to monitor progress of all employees and ensure they are
up-to-date with the necessary training for their role.
Achievements against our plans
a)The Practice Development Nurse (PDN) has worked closely with members of staff
in all of our clinical teams this year to ensure they are clinically competent, and
helping them to build their confidence and capabilities
b)As part of the East of England Care Home Education Programme our two dedicated
care home educator / facilitator posts lead on the delivery of the “ABC” programme
and the team (includes four local hospices) won the Health Education East of
England award for Innovation and Improvement, having trained over 400 staff in
East of England care homes and hospitals in end of life care. The funding of these
roles is now under discussion.
c)The implementation of an online system of some aspects of mandatory training has
been very successful. The reporting and tracking from the system is also good and
has allowed our human resources team to give team leaders updates on how their
staff is progressing through each of the modules.
In addition to this we have also introduced weekly Protected Learning Time (PLT) for all
clinical staff working in the Hospice with a varied and interesting teaching programme.
We have found this weekly PLT to be an effective way of giving training in the Hospice a
high priority.
We have also appointed a Director of Education and Training (a collaborative post with
the Hospice of St Francis).
Priority 3: Patient experience/clinical effectiveness –
‘Increase the number of patients referred to our services’
We wanted to reach more members of the community who needed our services.
This is an important objective and we believe it helps us focus our attention on our
clinical services, volunteering, trading and fundraising.
How we planned to achieve this
During the year 2013-2014 we planned to:
a)Increase the number of referrals to the clinical core services – the appointment to
the new role of Community Liaison Coordinator and their planned close working
with local healthcare professionals in the community would help achieve this
b)Agree with the local Clinical Commissioning Group that emergency out of hours
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
admissions (which are currently being run as a pilot project), will be funded
beyond 2013
c)Appoint to identified new clinical roles to ensure a multidisciplinary team is
available to all our patients, carers and families:
• A
social worker (community liaison role) – to take some of our services out of the
Hospice to the patient/client in their homes
• A creative therapy coordinator
• Increase medical hours to support our out of hours service
d)As an NHS Any Qualified Provider of accredited bereavement service, increase
referrals to the bereavement service
Achievements against our plans
We have changed the name of our Day Care services to Day Services at the
Starlight Centre and now run a variety of groups and clinics for people with a life
limiting illness living at home, for example a weekly drop in meditation group as
well as a more traditional day care service running one day each week.
We have worked more with other local agencies for example the Citizen Advice
Bureau and Herts Carers.
We have worked with local specialist centres to set up pathways for patients recently
diagnosed with certain conditions – for example those with brain tumours and men
with prostate cancer.
Consequently we now have more people coming into the Hospice to use our
services.
a)Increasing the number of people reaching our services remains one of our goals and
we are continually seeking new ways of reaching people who may benefit from our
services. The Community Liaison Co-ordinator has met with GP Practices and District
Nurses to make them aware of the wide range of services we are able to offer
b)We have recently been informed by our local Commissioning Group that our “out of
hours” admissions to the Inpatient Unit will continue to be funded, meaning we can
continue to accept admissions to the unit outside normal working hours
c)We have identified new ways in which staff can work to support people in the
community:
• O
ne of our social workers is now able to make visits to people in their homes if
they are unable to visit the Hospice
• We are still seeking to appoint a Creative Therapy Co-ordinator, however were not
Respecting the value of every life
Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
successful in our funding applications to cover the costs of doing so. We plan to
make more applications this year.
• A
s stated above, we have recently been informed that the funding for our out of
hours admissions will be continued and we are now discussing with the Board of
Trustees about increasing the number of doctors we have working in the Hospice
d)We now offer an increased range of bereavement services including counselling that
has led to an increased number of referrals.
Part 2
Statement of assurance
The following are statements that all providers must include in their
Quality Account.
Many of these statements are not directly applicable to palliative care
providers and therefore explanations of what these statements mean are
also given.
2.1 Review of Services
During 2013/2014 Peace Hospice Care provided the following services through its main
clinical areas listed below:
Three core services:
• Inpatient Unit
• Community Services
• Day Services at the Starlight Centre
Supported by multi-disciplinary teams comprising of:
• Supportive Care team
• Rehabilitation team
• Medical and nursing team
• Quality and Education team
The Patient Services are lead by the Director of Patient Services and the Medical
Director, supported by the Senior Clinical Team.
Peace Hospice Care has reviewed all the data available to them on the quality of care in
all of these services.
2.2 Income generated
The income generated by the NHS represents approximately 20% of the overall cost
of running these services. The balance is raised by the Hospice through voluntary
donations, its own shops and other fundraising.
Respecting the value of every life
Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
2.3 Participation in Clinical Audit
As a provider of specialist palliative care, Peace Hospice Care is not eligible to
participate in any of the national clinical audits or national confidential enquiries.
This is because none of the 2013/2014 audits or enquiries related to specialist
palliative care.
The Hospice will also not be eligible to take part in any national audit or confidential
enquiry in 2014/2015 for the same reason.
2.4 Local Clinical Audits
Clinical audits have taken place within Peace Hospice Care throughout the year and
form part of the annual audit cycle programme within the Hospice’s overall Quality
Implementation Plan. The clinical audit cycle includes audits on infection, prevention
and control, documentation, and compliance to identified policies.
Any changes to practice that are recommended following the audits are monitored by
our clinical governance team to ensure care delivery is safe and effective.
Further monitoring is part of the cycle.
2.5 Research
The number of patients receiving NHS services provided or subcontracted by
Peace Hospice Care in 2013/2014 that were recruited during that period to participate
in research approved by a research ethics committee was: None.
2.6 Use of the CQUIN payment framework
Peace Hospice Care income in 2013/14 was not conditional on achieving quality
improvement and innovation goals through the Commissioning for Quality and
Innovation payment framework because it is a third sector organisation and as such
was not eligible to participate in this scheme during the reporting period.
However the Hospice successfully achieved their CQUIN targets leading to a small
amount of additional funding.
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
2.7 The Care Quality Commission
Peace Hospice Care is required to register with the Care Quality Commission and its
current registration status is unconditional. Peace Hospice Care has no conditions
on registration.
Peace Hospice Care has not participated in any special reviews or investigations by the
Care Quality Commission during 2013/2014. However, the Hospice was successful in
meeting all required standards when inspected by the Care Quality Commission in
May 2013.
2.8 Data Quality
Peace Hospice Care did not submit records during 2013/2014 to the Secondary Users
service for inclusion in the Hospital Episode Statistics which are included in the latest
published data. The Hospice is not eligible to participate in this scheme.
However Peace Hospice Care does submit data to the Minimum Data Set (MDS) for
Specialist Palliative Care Services collected by the National Council of Palliative Care on
a yearly basis, with the aim of providing an accurate picture of hospice and specialist
palliative care service activity.
2.9 Clinical coding error rate
Peace Hospice Care was not subject to the payment by results clinical coding audit
during 2013/2014 by the Audit Commission.
Part 3
Quality overview
3.1 The National Council for Palliative Care:
Peace Hospice Care provides data (Minimum Data Sets) to the National Council for
Palliative care on an annual basis and the table on the following page is a subset of
that data.
Our closure of the Inpatient Unit for some time over the autumn period for
refurbishment can be linked to the drop in referrals to the unit for 2013 - 2014.
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
2011/2012
2012/2013
2013/2014
Draft
Inpatients
Total patients
240
299
227
Occupancy
74%
74.6%
73.6%
14%
18%
14%
83
89
134
48%
42%
23%
9
7.6
5
282
234
346
21%
16.4%
25%
606
678
623
4713
4116
3520
% of new patients –
non cancer
Day Care
Total patients
% of new patients –
non cancer
Average no of
attendances per session
Hospice at Home
Total patients
% of new patients –
non cancer
Bereavement Services
Total number of clients
Total contacts
3.2 Quality Markers we have chosen to measure
In addition to the limited number of suitable quality measures in the national data set
for palliative care, we have chosen to measure our performance against the following:
2012/13
2013/14
Total number of complaints
3
0
The number of complaints upheld in full
0
0
The number of complaints upheld in part
1
0
The number of serious patient incidents
(excluding falls)
0
0
The number of slips, trips and falls
60 (of which 46 were
in the first 6 months
and after an action
plan was put in place,
14 in the next 6
months)
25
Indicator: 1st April to 31st March
Complaints (clinical)
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
The number of patients who experienced a
fracture or other serious injury as a result of
a fall
0
1
The number of patients admitted to the
Inpatient Unit with pressure damage
4
14
The number of patients who developed
pressure damage whilst in the Inpatient Unit
0
8
The number of patients known to be infected
with MRSA on admission to the Inpatient Unit
1
2
The number of patients infected with MRSA
whilst in the Inpatient Unit
0
0
The number of patients admitted to the
Inpatient Unit with Clostridium difficile
0
0
The number of patients infected with
Clostridium difficile whilst in the
Inpatient Unit
0
0
Infection Prevention and Control
3.3 Clinical Audit
The audits set out in the Hospice clinical annual audit plan for 2013/14 were
completed.
Several audits were linked to safety, focusing for example on patient falls and on use
of bed rails. Others were linked to palliative care, for example the use of the Distress
Thermometer (see below). Some audits were “spot checks” to ensure recommendations
from previous audits had been implemented, for example on the completion of
drug charts.
Examples where improvements were made as a result of an audit:
• M
ore patients being assessed using the Distress Thermometer which ensures that
patients have the opportunity to express their main concerns, enabling staff to put
in place appropriate care to relieve the problems
• Changes to how we document our pressure area care has enabled better recording.
• Fewer patients are experiencing falls
The choice of audit topics is partly informed by our clinical incident reporting system
which successfully encourages open reporting in a blame free culture.
Plans for 2014/15: To carry out identified audits in the annual audit plan and
implement any recommendations.
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
3.4 Other Quality Initiatives & Service Developments
Clinical Governance Framework
In 2013 / 14 we revised our Clinical Governance Structure / Framework. It now includes
small working groups established to take responsibility for particular clinical issues.
The groups are:
• Patient information and Involvement
• Medicine Management
• Tissue Viability
• Infection Prevention and Control
• Patient Safety
Their remit is to submit to the Clinical Governance Implementation Group a written
annual action plan of any quality improvements, audits, and training that they want to
carry out throughout the year, specific to their area and based on the latest published
guidance and evidence-based practice.
The groups report to the Clinical Governance Implementation Group and this enables
clinical staff of all grades in the Hospice to participate in clinical governance. We plan
to develop these groups further during the forthcoming year, as well as developing the
roles identified champions in these areas.
Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE): in June 2013 we
were one of the pilot hospice sites who undertook the national PLACE. The findings
were good, but did identify a few areas that needed improving, for example, around
maintenance and décor. These issues were addressed during our refurbishment in
October 2013.
Service Developments:
Having made great changes to our Starlight Centre in 2013 - 2014, we now want to see
these changes become embedded in our service and increase the numbers of people
attending them.
We plan to focus on the development of our Hospice at Home and Supportive Care
services in 2014 - 2015.
3.5 Feedback from Service Users
Peace Hospice Care places great importance on feedback from people who use our
services. Feedback is gained from a variety of sources including patients, carers and
other professionals.
In 2013/14 we revised the format of our questionnaires so that we now ask people to
identify three things the service did well and also to identify where improvements could
be made. This has enabled us to get clearer information about what people like about
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
our services (for example our caring attitude and the atmosphere of the Inpatient
Unit), but also where improvements could be made (for example car parking – which we
have now made alterations to).
All questionnaire findings are monitored by the Patient Information and Involvement
Group which reports to our Clinical Governance Group. There is an annual plan for areas
for improvement and initiatives to implement.
Comments from patients/carers
98% of people who have used our services say it is likely or extremely likely they would
recommend our service to family and friends.
Starlight Services
“The attitude of your staff and helpers gives old people a valuable sense of relevance”
Inpatient Unit
“The Unit is very homely with a lovely atmosphere, very important at such a sad time”
Hospice at Home
“They always listen to you and will sort things out to make life more comfortable”
Health Professionals as Service Users:
People who use our services are not just patients; in 2013 we carried out a survey of
local health professionals. We gained some helpful information and have been able to
act on some of their comments. For example we found that some local hospital services
and GPs were not aware of some of the services we offer.
Plans for 2014/15:
We have chosen ‘gaining more feedback from people who use our services’ as one of our
key priorities for 2014 - 15 (as detailed earlier in the document).
We also plan to revise the questionnaire given to people who use our bereavement
services, in line with the questionnaire given out in our other service areas.
We are looking at ways of increasing the numbers of questionnaires returned to us in
2014 - 15.
Complaints:
Complaints are taken extremely seriously and we always try to identify learning that
can drive improvements in the clinical areas. Complaints are thoroughly investigated
and reported at the Clinical Governance Group meeting and to the Board of Trustees.
Immediate action is taken to rectify any shortfalls or concerns identified.
We did not receive any clinical complaints for the period April 1st 2013 March 31st 2014.
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
3.6 Board of Trustee Visits
The Board of Trustees take their responsibilities seriously and in light of this we have
recently reviewed the frequency and content of our Trustees visits. They take place
twice a year, and can include the Trustees talking to patients and their families about
their experiences of Hospice services. Comments, in almost all circumstances are very
positive and action plans are adopted to take forward any points arising.
3.7 Supporting Statements
Peace Hospice Care Quality Account 2014-15
The clinical standards and performance of Peace Hospice Care are regularly and
carefully monitored and scrutinized by the Clinical Governance Committee. The
Quality Account 2014-15 document gives an accurate account of the plans for and the
achievements in the excellent services provided by Peace Hospice Care.
Professor Robert Elkeles, Chairman of Clinical Governance Committee
Peace Hospice Care
June 2014
Healthwatch Hertfordshire’s response to Peace Hospice Care
Quality Account 2014
Healthwatch Hertfordshire’s response to Peace Hospice Care
Quality Account 2014
Healthwatch Hertfordshire is pleased to submit a response to Peace Hospice Care’s
Quality Account.
The Quality Account gives a clear picture of what has achieved in the year of change,
with the newly launched Starlight Centre, and in name to reflect the breadth of
services provided. The changes demonstrate a commitment to meet the changing
needs of communities. Patient data at the end of the document reflects the changes
implemented.
The Account also identifies priorities for 2014-15, clearly and succinctly.
We are pleased to note that the Hospice received a positive CQC inspection with the
inspector seen as being ‘very impressed’ and no shortfalls identified.
A notable theme running through the account is an emphasis on partnership and
collaborative working to help provide the best services for patients and families
Healthwatch Hertfordshire is pleased to see Peace Hospice Care’s aim to enhance patient
and family involvement. The introduction of the ‘Individualised care plan for the
Dying Person’ shows the organisation’s commitment to meet the needs of its patients.
We also welcome the move to make Quality Metrics Data a priority and its use as the
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Peace Hospice Care • Quality Account 2014 - 2015
main way to demonstrate to stakeholders the safety and quality of care. The emphasis
on reducing pressure ulcers in 2014-15 is noted and we hope that Peace Hospice Care
is as successful in addressing these as it was with falls previously.
Progress on the priorities from 2013/14 is clearly shown. The introduction of the
Community Liaison Coordinator, and improvements in record keeping and use of
volunteers have helped increase the time that can be spent with patients and families.
The focus on enhanced education and training has been effective, and Peace Hospice
Care has used a wide range of approaches to help increase awareness of its services.
We are pleased to see progress on a range of issues as a result of clinical audits
including the increased use of the Digital Thermometer.
Healthwatch Hertfordshire thanks Peace Hospice Care for this opportunity to comment
and looks forward to opportunities to work together in the coming year.
Sarah Wren MBE, Chairman Healthwatch Hertfordshire
June 2014
Statement from Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group
End of Life Care Commissioning Manager and Community Contracts Manager
Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group welcomes the opportunity to comment on
the Peace Hospice Quality Account for 2013/14. This reflects the open and collaborative
approach of Peace Hospice in working with patients, carers and the general public
regarding the quality and ethos of care provided by Peace.
The report details the range of work that Peace undertakes locally and considers all
of the relevant mandatory elements. The information presented within the report has
been reviewed and HVCCG is satisfied that the position reflects an accurate account of
the quality of the services provided.
Herts Valleys CCG see Peace Hospice as a key partner in the delivery of integrated end of
life care for the patients of West Hertfordshire. We value the excellent open and regular
communication that we have with them and are committed to working with them to
continue to deliver a high quality and much valued service to our population.
During 13/14 Peace Hospice continued to provide high quality care to our patients,
prioritising patient safety, clinical effectiveness and enhancing patients’ and their
families’ experience. Progress towards these improvements was monitored through
regular contract review meetings.
Herts Valleys CCG was pleased to provide additional funding to support 24/7 admissions
to Peace Hospice. This scheme prevents unnecessary admissions to hospital for patients
with palliative crisis at home.
Looking forward to 2014/15 Herts Valleys CCG is pleased to continue to work closely
with the hospice to achieve its End of Life Strategy and key priorities. These priorities
reflect both organisations aim to continually improve and provide good quality end of
life care to its patients and the community.
Respecting the value of every life