Pictured: Members of the ELHT End of Life Care Team
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust’s (ELHT) community end of life care provision has been awarded the highest possible ‘Outstanding’ rating by independent inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
During a routine inspection last summer, CQC inspectors met community specialist palliative care staff, management and community nurses, as well as visiting patients in their own homes.
The outcome was a glowing report in which East Lancashire Community End of Life Care provision was praised for being “personalised to patient’s individual needs and taking into consideration the whole patient’s circumstances, including financial.”
Christine Pearson, ELHT Director of Nursing and Executive Director with responsibility for end of life care, said: “At East Lancashire Hospitals, our staff are successfully integrating hospital and community NHS services and we’re delighted this has been recognised by the CQC with their ‘Outstanding’ rating for end of life care in the community.”
“This hugely positive CQC report is the result of an excellent team effort, and we are very, very proud that community end of life care in East Lancashire is rated ‘Outstanding’.
Following their thorough inspection, CQC inspectors reported a ‘truly multidisciplinary approach to end of life care involving stakeholders (patients)’ and praised the Trust for its ‘culture of continuous learning and improvement.’
Community End of Life Care in East Lancashire is provided by acute (hospital) and community specialist palliative care teams working side-by-side with community nurses, primary care services, local hospices, nursing and care homes to provide a seamless service for patients and their relatives and carers.
“The CQC’s ‘Outstanding’ rating is testimony to our staff who make every effort to provide high quality end of life care,” says Mrs. Rineke Schram, Chair of the Trust’s End of Life Care Steering Group.
“When it comes to providing end of life care, we have one chance to get things right. And it is our belief – and the CQC support our view – that patient-focused end of life care means supporting each person’s individual needs, wherever they decide to spend their final days.”
Overall, CQC inspectors rate East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust as ‘Good with areas of outstanding’.
The Trust’s full CQC report is available to download from the CQC website www.cqc.org.uk