Highland Hospice is pleased with inspection by Healthcare Improvement Scotland which gave it a positive grading
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A Highland health care charity has received a positive grading in its latest Healthcare Improvement Scotland report.
It followed an unannounced inspection at Highland Hospice in August and the report, which has been received by the organisation, reflected the excellent care provided for patients of the hospice.
Gradings on the key quality indicators inspected at the hospice were all “good” with comments from patient family members during the inspection including: “Strangers become friends”; “Feel safe in here”; and “Listened to by every member of staff”.
Family members spoke about the hospice environment and said: “It’s spotless” and “It’s absolutely amazing.”
Paula Cooper, head of hospice services, said: “Our staff have worked extremely hard to ensure that their care is of the highest standard at all times and it is to their credit that we have received such a positive report.
“The report clearly reflects the hard work and commitment of our staff to providing a high standard of care while in the midst of a pandemic.
“It is clear that despite these difficulties, staff have continued to provide excellent care to all our patients and strive to continuously improve services at all times.”
The report did also point up a number of areas where things could be improved and a spokesman acknowledged that “improvements can always be made”.
They said: “As required by the report, the organisation will ensure a practising privileges policy, induction and training programme – and that contracts are in place for all staff working under practising privileges in the service.
“As recommended, a method will be developed for collating online and social media feedback and using this to implement improvements in the service; consistency will be ensured while documenting patients’ care records regarding consent to share their information with their families or other healthcare professionals; and the staff induction process will be audited.
“Furthermore, a plan will be developed to take into account all staff feedback and ensure action is taken where appropriate – and fire warden practical training will be enhanced before the next inspection.”
The last Healthcare Improvement Scotland inspection of Highland Hospice took place in 2019.
All recommendations from that report, which was also excellent, were met.
The hospice is the only one serving adults across the Highlands and its palliative and end-of-life care services have been a vital source of comfort and support for patients, their families and communities since it first opened in 1987.
