Farleigh Hospice has received an overall rating of ‘Good’ from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after an inspection in January 2024.
The hospice charity, based in Broomfield, Chelmsford, was rated as ‘Good’ across the key areas of safe, effective, responsive and well-led and achieved the highest rating of ‘Outstanding’ in the key area of caring.
Farleigh provides specialist hospice care and support, free of charge, to local people affected by life-limiting illnesses and bereavement in mid Essex. In the 2023/24 financial year, it received 25,162 calls to its clinical advice line; cared for 1,570 patients at home; cared for 207 patients in its Inpatient Unit and received 1,002 referrals to its bereavement services.
Inspectors agreed that the hospice was exceptionally caring, noting that staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, considered their individual needs and helped them understand their conditions.
They also reported that staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, supported them to make decisions about their care and that people felt safe and confident to raise any concerns.
The inspectors found that Farleigh was responsive and effective, planned innovative care to meet the needs of local people and made it easy for them to provide feedback.
They also observed that leaders had the skills and abilities to run the service, were visible and approachable for patients and staff and managed and delivered good quality, sustainable care, which was supported by appropriate individualised treatment plans.
Farleigh’s Chief Executive, Sarah Green, said, “I am delighted with the outcome as it recognises not only the huge effort that our clinical teams put into delivering the highest quality of care, but also our commitment to planning innovative care that meets the needs of local people, with patients and families actively involved in reviewing and shaping exactly what that care looks like.”
Farleigh Hospice is a charity that relies on public support to continue providing these much-needed services, free of charge. If your organisation would like to support Farleigh, please call 01245 457411 or email fundraising@farleighhospice.org.
www.farleighhospice.org