The UK's leading end of life charity Marie Curie has received an 'outstanding' rating in a report published on 22 March by The Care Quality Commission for the charity's Newcastle Hospice and community services in the North East.
Marie Curie is the only hospice and palliative care provider in Newcastle to be rated as 'Outstanding.'
Marie Curie Nurses and healthcare professionals provide expert palliative and end of life care, whatever the illness, in the comfort of people's homes and in the charity's hospices.
The inspection, which was carried out over two days in January, looked at all services provided by the charity at the Newcastle hospice, as well as community-based services including the Marie Curie Hospice Care at Home overnight service, Durham Urgent Hospice Care at Home Service and the North East Companion service.
The CQC rated the Noth East services as "Outstanding" overall - the highest possible award – with "Outstanding" ratings for the Effective, Caring and Well-led categories.
Gillian Raine, Marie Curie's Head of Nursing and Quality for North East, said:
"We know how passionate our staff are about their work and the expert care they provide, so we are thrilled that this has been recognised by CQC. We are all driven by the same goal of delivering high quality holistic palliative care, both in the hospice and in patients' homes.
"It was particularly pleasing to see inspectors shining a light on how we always strive to involve patients in their own care and respond to their individual needs.
As part of the visit, inspectors spoke to patients and their families. The report reads:
"Patients and those close to them told us that they were active partners in their care and fully involved at all stages.
"....feedback was consistently positive with care described as 'excellent', 'immediately put at ease', 'very professional'. We heard that families felt the support allowed them, for example, 'to be husband or wife again rather than carer'."
Jose Gaglioni from Gosforth was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in November 2022, and has been using various services at Marie Curie Newcastle Hospice Wellbeing Centre since January 2023. As well as physiotherapy, he is now part the Men's Baking Group, and receives support from one the hospice's counsellors.
Jose said: "Honestly, the award is more than deserved. It is just a fantastic place.
"I didn't know much about the Marie Curie Newcastle hospice before I came here. I thought it was just a place people came to die. But actually no, it is such a warm and friendly place with so much to it. I love coming to the groups – I have made some good friends and I just look forward to coming to the groups, talking and having a few laughs.
"Nothing is too much of a problem for the staff – from the receptionists, the kitchen workers to the cleaners and all the nurses and medical team. There is always someone willing to help."
"Nothing is too much of a problem for the staff – from the receptionists, the kitchen workers to the cleaners and all the nurses and medical team. There is always someone willing to help."
The report details how Marie Curie teams respond to the changing needs of service users with staff being "proactive in seeking out the views of patients, public, health professional groups and community groups". It highlighted how positively the hospice environment was viewed and described it as "bright and spacious".
The inspector had special praise for the leadership, management, and governance of the organisation, saying leaders were "...dedicated to providing an inclusive, compassionate and highly effective service.".
The report adds: "Staff were proud to work for the service and felt truly respected, supported and valued... regardless of grade or role within the service."
Staff were praised for being "...consistently committed to treating patients and those close to them with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, found innovative ways to meet their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided strong, caring and respectful emotional support to patients, and those close to them."