Accreditation scheme helps improve end of life care in local care homes
Two Suffolk care homes are celebrating achieving an award recognising the improved quality and standards in their end of life care for residents. The accreditation awarded by St Elizabeth Hospice improves the quality of care through a supported self-improvement programme of training, shadowing, professional development plans, and progress and assessment reports.Avocet Court in Ipswich and Cedrus House in Stowmarket both signed up to be part of the scheme committing to work with the team of experts from St Elizabeth Hospice. Both homes have successfully completed the accreditation and were presented with their award by hospice chief executive Mark Miller who said:“The accreditation scheme is an important initiative in our efforts to ensure every individual and their family feel they have the best possible support at a difficult time, and it’s part of our “No Place Like Home Campaign”, designed to deliver what people actually want for themselves and their loved ones. I am delighted that Avocet Court and Cedrus House have worked hard and achieved the award. We continue to support a number of other homes to follow suit”.Rebecca Watkins, manager at Avocet Court said: “Working with the education team from the hospice has been invaluable to us. The training provided has covered a wide range of subject areas and the whole staff team has really benefitted. We’ve developed a really good relationship with the hospice which has given us the confidence to better support those approaching the end of life.”
Sharing skills and learning
The hospice has also developed a care home alliance to bring together local care home staff to share knowledge and sector updates. The alliance also provides the added benefit of tailored training sessions by the hospice in subjects such as breathlessness and medications to further support those working in the sector across east Suffolk.Michelle Webster, home manager at Care UK’s Cedrus House, commented: “Where someone is approaching the end of their life, they often want to spend their final days in the place they call home. If that is our care home, then we want to ensure we are doing everything in our power to ensure the resident, and their family, has peace of mind that the best possible care will be provided. We are very proud to have achieved this accreditation, we have strong focus on nursing care at Cedrus House and being part of this initiative will have great benefits for the people we care for.”There are several requirements to care homes achieving the accreditation including undertaking a training plan, agreeing to critical friend visits where hospice staff visit the home and identify areas for improvement, staff shadowing and professional improvement plans as well as the 15 step challenge which provides a first impressions report to the home.Find out more about the hospice care home accreditation scheme here.