Peterborough’s Sue Ryder hospice rated ‘Outstanding’ by Care Quality Commission

The national independent regulator of health and social care services awarded the top rating following a rigorous inspection of the hospice’s expert palliative care services – including its 20 bed inpatient unit, hospice at home team, day services and family support team – in December.

Publishing the full report week on its website, the CQC highlighted how “patients and families were truly respected and valued as individuals by an exceptional service” given at the Longthorpe based hospice.

Inspectors commented how staff were “devoted to doing all they could to support the emotional needs of patients, families and carers,” to help “patients live every day to the fullest”.

A number of areas of outstanding practice were also praised, including its collaboration with external palliative care experts to improve nutrition for patients, a wellbeing café which is helping to increase feelings of wellbeing for patients on the inpatient unit, remembrance events for family and friends and the hospice’s work with East Anglia Children’s Hospice and Arthur Rank Hospice to support children transitioning into adult hospice services.

Allison Mann, director at the hospice in Thorpe Road, said: “This brilliant result is thanks to the commitment, dedication and hard work of all our staff and volunteers who do all they can to be there when it matters for local families. And it is thanks to their passion for providing expert and compassionate palliative care.

“We’re thrilled to be rated outstanding and hope this assures people with a terminal illness that they will receive the highest quality care at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice. I would like to thank every one of the staff and volunteers for their hard work. We are all very proud of this outstanding achievement.”

The report highlighted a number of examples where caring staff went the extra mile, extending their support to everyone, including when staff “invited the spouse of a recently deceased patient to come to the hospice for Christmas dinner so that they would not be alone” and a wedding where staff “helped to add some appropriate decorations” and “the catering team made the wedding cake and made it blue so that it could be used as the bride’s ‘something blue’.”

Michael Durkin was supported by Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall’s Hospice at Home team to care for both his mother, Kathleen, and his brother, Tom, at the end of their lives, keeping them at home in Peterborough.

He said: “The care and help we got was beyond words - there is no comparison. It was not just practical care they gave, it was a quality of care that made a real difference. It was a quality of care I don’t think exists anywhere else. It really was care at its best.

“The team helped me keep my brother at home and out of hospital. As an institution, Sue Ryder is beyond words for its value in the community and for the care it gives.”.