ADULTS being cared for at home by Marie Curie staff are in safe hands after it was rated ‘outstanding’ in a recent inspection.
The central region nursing and domiciliary services, which cares for terminally ill people in their homes across Solihull, Birmingham, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and beyond, was visited by healthcare inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) earlier this year.
This service provides ‘personal care’ support and helps with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating and end of life care to adults with life-threatening illnesses.
The CQC spoke with family members od people who were using or had used the service by telephone.
Inspectors did not visit people in their homes as they were receiving end of life care.
At the time of the inspection there were more than 300 people receiving the service.
Inspectors found staff were caring and compassionate and people were being provided with safe, responsive, caring, effective and well-led care.
Rob Assall-Marsden, CQC’s Head of Inspection for Adult Social Care in the central region said: “Our inspection team was really impressed by the level of care and support offered to people using Marie Curie Nursing and Domiciliary Care Service, Central Region.
“Commissioners and health care professionals who worked alongside staff were consistent in their praise of the service and spoke of its determination to continually improve.
“People were treated with kindness and their individuality was respected and staff worked with people using the service and their relatives to ensure they were central to any decisions about end of life care and treatment.
“The result was that the service ensured people had a dignified and pain free death as possible, as well as providing support to family members during and after their relative’s death.
“People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrict way possible.
“All of this meant people received a high standard of care, which is why it has been rated Outstanding.”
Inspectors also heard families were overwhelmingly complimentary about the service, praising staff for the compassion and kindness shown to their relatives and themselves.
Joanne Stradling, Divisional General Manager at Marie Curie, said: “I’m very proud of the Marie Curie staff who deliver this crucial service with such care and compassion.
“They ensure that patients continue to receive quality end-of-life care across the Central Region, helping them keep their independence and remain at home with their loved ones.
“Our Regional Manager, Amanda Burn, and her team go above and beyond to put the patient at the heart of everything they do.
People who are supported by the Marie Curie Nursing Service are more likely to die at home and have fewer hospital visits in their last year of life but we know that we could be supporting many more people that need our care.”
