Princess Alice Hospice

Updated 17 March 2022

Princess Alice Hospice provides palliative and end of life care on an inpatient and community basis. The inpatient unit has 24 beds, most of which are in private en-suite rooms. Community services include hospice at home, wellbeing care, and outpatients services based at the location.

The provider is a registered charity and provides services funded from a variety of sources, including fundraising activities. The service provides care to patients living in Surrey, south west London and Middlesex.

The service operates in in a complex local health economy that incorporates four clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and two integrated care systems (ICSs).

The provider has a significant learning, teaching and research remit and works regionally, nationally, and internationally to increase awareness and knowledge of hospice care.

From April 2021 to October 2021, the service received 1,532 referrals. Of these, 62% were made by a hospital team and 33% were made by a GP. Care homes, other hospices, and other or unknown sources of referral accounted for 5% of referrals.

We last inspected Princess Alice Hospice in September 2016. The inspection was led by an Adult Social Care inspection team using methodology that has since been updated. Our latest inspection was carried out by a Hospitals inspection team using new criteria and guidance to help us identify outstanding practice.

Updated 17 March 2022

Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as outstanding because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.
• Staff provided excellent care and treatment, delivered by highly trained, professional staff who received specialist development. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available flexibly and at short notice.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families, and carers. The service constantly asked people for feedback, which was overwhelmingly positive and exceeded the provider’s expected standards. The team’s internal audit system and care ethos that focused on patient centred; compassionate care furthered these standards.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it. The complementary range of clinical specialties were integrated seamlessly and there was a clear focus on system-wide, coordinated care provision.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values and applied them effectively and innovatively in their work. Staff felt respected, supported, and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

Updated 17 March 2022

Princess Alice Hospice provides inpatient, outpatient and community hospice services. We rated it outstanding because care was safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well led.