Quality Account 2025-2026
Contents Page 3: Our footprint and values Page 4: Statement from the CEO Page 5: Statement from the Chairman Page 6: Our Quality Performance Pillars Page 9: Our services and activity data Page 18: Training and Development Page 19: Feedback Page 20: Progress against 2025/26 priorities Page 23: Our priorities for 2026/27
Page 2
Map of our footprint Our values are at the heart of everything we do and underpin our strategies, policies and ways of working. Embedding our values through our recruitment, induction, training and communications also helps create the appropriate environment to work in partnership with others.
Our values underpin everything we do Caring
Collaborative
Resourceful
Excellence
Respectful
Honest
Innovative
Knowledgeable
Page 3
Statement from the Chief Executive Officer The past year has been one of significant achievement for St Luke’s (Cheshire) Hospice, as we have continued to deliver high-quality, compassionate care to patients and families across our community. Demand for our services has continued to grow, reflecting both the increasing complexity of patient needs and the vital role that hospice care plays in supporting people living with life-limiting illness. I am particularly proud of the way our teams have responded to this demand, expanding and developing services to ensure that more people can access timely specialist support. Highlights this year include the successful launch of our Dementia Service, and increased activity across our community-based services. A major milestone this year was our unannounced Care Quality Commission inspection, where we achieved a rating of Good across all domains. This outcome reflects the dedication, professionalism and compassion of our staff and volunteers, who work tirelessly to place patients and their families at the heart of everything we do. Alongside maintaining strong clinical governance and patient safety standards, we have continued to invest in our people, our facilities and our partnerships across Cheshire and Merseyside. As we look ahead, we remain ambitious in our commitment to delivering outstanding care, reducing inequalities in access to hospice services, and ensuring that St Luke’s continues to meet the evolving needs of our community for generations to come. To the best of my knowledge, the information in the Quality Account is accurate and a fair representation of the quality of health care services provided by St Luke’s (Cheshire) Hospice. Karen Nutt CEO of St Luke’s (Cheshire) Hospice
Page 4
Statement from the Chairman of the Trustees As Chair of the Trustees at St Luke’s (Cheshire) Hospice, I am proud to present this year’s Quality Account, which reflects our commitment to delivering safe, effective and compassionate care. Over the past year, we have continued to build on strong foundations, ensuring that patient safety, clinical effectiveness and continuous improvement remain at the heart of everything we do. A significant highlight was our unannounced Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in August 2025, where we achieved a ‘Good’ rating across all domains. This outcome reflects the dedication and professionalism of our staff and volunteers, whose efforts ensure patients and families receive the highest standards of care. We are grateful for the positive feedback received and remain committed to acting on the CQC’s recommendations as we work towards achieving an ‘Outstanding’ rating. We strengthened our clinical leadership with the appointment of Dr Sally Chambers as Medical Director and enhanced patient safety by increasing our Band 6 nurse provision, ensuring a 24/7 senior nursing presence. Our strong incident reporting culture enables us to learn, adapt and improve continuously. New initiatives, including a dedicated falls section within our reporting system and smoking cessation training, further demonstrate our proactive approach to patient wellbeing and risk management. We have also invested in our facilities, supported by a capital grant from the Department of Health & Social Care, enabling us to refurbish our Day Hospice and enhance our inpatient environment. These improvements help ensure our buildings remain fit for purpose and provide a welcoming, therapeutic space for patients and families. Looking ahead, we are developing a new strategy focused on expanding community services, reducing inequalities in access, enhancing integration with partners, strengthening our education offer and continuing our journey from ‘Good’ to ‘Outstanding’. We are also planning for the future of our facilities to meet the growing needs of our community. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank our staff, volunteers, partners and supporters for their dedication and commitment. Together, we will continue to uphold the values of St Luke’s (Cheshire) Hospice and ensure every patient and family receives the care, dignity and support they deserve. On a personal note, this will be my final Quality Account, as I stepped down as Chair on 23rd March 2026. I will continue to support and follow the invaluable work of St Luke’s.
Mike Ridley Chair of the Trustees
Page 5
Review of Quality Performance 2025/26 We are committed to seeking and acting upon feedback provided to us. We have several quality governance areas that collectively ensure our patients receive safe, effective and caring treatment: Patient safety Health and Safety Clinical Audit and effectiveness Incidents and risk monitoring Key achievements during this year:
Patient Safety CQC Inspection In August 2025 the Hospice had an unannounced CQC inspection which focused on all domains. We were very pleased to achieve a ‘Good’ rating across all domains with the scoring in each domain detailed below: Safe – overall score 72% Caring – overall score 75% Effective – overall score 75% Responsive- overall score 75% Well-led – overall score 71% The CQC shared the positive feedback they received from patients and their families who they were able to speak to whilst at the Hospice. We will continue to strengthen our clinical services by taking forward feedback from the CQC report into an action plan to enable the Hospice to achieve an outstanding rating in the future. We are incredibly grateful to all of our staff who each play an important role ensuring we deliver great care to our patients. Appointment of Medical Director Dr Sally Chambers commenced in post as Medical Director in September 2025, having been a member of the medical team since 2018, and is working to lead the medical team as part of the Senior Management Team. Strengthening band 6 nurse provision On the In-patient unit, we have further strengthened our band 6 nurse numbers, meaning a 24/7 senior nursing presence to enhance patient safety and care. Page 6
Health and Safety The health, safety and wellbeing of our staff, patients, volunteers and visitors remain of paramount importance to the Hospice. During the year, all staff completed mandatory training in health and safety, fire safety, moving and handling, and any additional rolespecific training required to support the safe delivery of care. All health and safety incidents reported throughout the year were reviewed as part of our governance processes. We have been encouraged by the continued willingness of staff to report incidents, near misses and concerns, demonstrating a positive safety culture and a commitment to learning. This reporting enables the Hospice to identify trends, understand underlying causes and implement improvements to reduce the likelihood of recurrence. Learning Opportunities and Actions Analysis of incidents reported during the year identified a number of opportunities for learning and improvement, including: Strengthening the reporting culture by continuing to encourage timely reporting of incidents and near misses, ensuring valuable learning is captured even where no harm has occurred. Monitoring incident trends to identify any emerging patterns and target preventative actions more effectively. Promoting staff wellbeing and safety awareness, recognising the important link between workforce wellbeing, safe practice and quality of care. The Hospice remains committed to fostering a culture of openness, learning and continuous improvement, ensuring that lessons identified through incident reporting contribute to safer services and improved outcomes for all those who access and deliver our care.
Page 7
Clinical Audit & effectiveness We have continued with external benchmarking of our clinical services and have participated in an ICB co-ordinated audit of our advice line data, both submitting data for external validation and acting as reviewers for other Hospices in the region. This demonstrates our commitment to maintaining excellence in clinical advice given to colleagues and patients. We also participated in an external audit organised by the Association of Palliative Medicine (FAMCARE), in which bereaved relatives are invited to offer their feedback regarding care provided by our Hospice. Findings from the survey highlighted families were ‘very satisfied’ with our in-patient unit and the respect for our patients, medical staff’s attention to symptoms and inclusion of family in care decision-making. We have been pleased with the results from both audits and have implemented learning opportunities based on feedback received. St Luke’s has an embedded audit schedule across all of our services. Results and any learning from the audits are fed back to team members. In addition to our audits, there is monthly ‘after incident review meetings’ where clinical incidents are reviewed in more detail with any further learning identified being fed back to staff. The following categories form part of the meeting: Medication Pressure ulcers Patient falls Safeguarding Other patient related incidents
Incidents & risk monitoring Our incidents and risks form a key part of our quality focus areas. All incidents are reviewed by the appropriate manager, with any trends identified being acted on.
We use Vantage for our incident and risk reporting system. Vantage enables us to report on incidents for governance monitoring. The system is used by staff to record incidents. We have monthly Medicines Management Meetings that review all medicine incidents. All information is shared and reviewed as part of our Patient Care Committee. During 2025–2026, the number of safeguarding incidents involving both children and adults remained broadly consistent with the previous year. Throughout the reporting period, a key focus was placed on promoting a positive reporting culture and reinforcing the importance of recording all incidents. This has supported greater transparency, organisational learning, and the identification of opportunities to improve patient safety. Page 8
A dedicated falls section was introduced within our Vantage incident reporting system to ensure that all slips, trips, falls and near misses are consistently recorded. As a result, the number of reported falls increased compared to the previous year. This increase is considered to reflect improved reporting practices rather than a deterioration in safety performance. Further analysis of the data demonstrated that fewer than half of the reported incidents were classified as full falls, while approximately one quarter involved patients lowering themselves safely to the floor. A review of falls incidents also identified that a proportion of patients involved were smokers. In response, staff were offered smoking cessation training to enhance their knowledge and confidence in supporting patients with nicotine dependency. Following this initiative, a smoking cessation assessment section was incorporated into the admission documentation, ensuring that nurses and medical staff routinely consider smoking status and the timely prescribing of appropriate nicotine replacement therapies where indicated. Medication-related incidents increased during the reporting period; however, the vast majority resulted in either no harm or low harm to patients. This increase reflects the organisation's strong safety culture, with staff demonstrating greater confidence in reporting incidents and near misses. Comprehensive reviews of reported medication errors have enabled the organisation to identify contributory factors and implement targeted improvements.
Key learning and actions arising from incident investigations included: · The redesign of prescribing charts to improve clarity and support safer prescribing practices. · Recognition that interruptions during medication rounds were a contributing factor in some medication errors. · The introduction of a checklist system to enable staff to communicate non-urgent patient requests without interrupting medication administration, thereby reducing distractions and supporting safer practice. These improvements demonstrate our commitment to learning from incidents, strengthening patient safety, and fostering a culture of continuous quality improvement across the organisation. Infection Prevention and control Over the year we have not had any cases of clostridium difficile or MRSA. We have had no cases of vomiting and diarrhoea outbreaks. Infection prevention and control is included as part of our audit schedule with staff required to complete frequent training as part of their mandatory modules.
Freedom To Speak Up We have taken a new approach to Freedom to Speak Up by engaging the service from our local Hospital trust via a service level agreement. As part of the service our guardian has attended a Board meeting and several team meetings (including our clinical teams) over the year. We have completed our annual report for the Board as part of our assurance framework.
Page 9
Our Services In 1988 St Luke’s was founded on the principles of combining expert pain and symptom relief with holistic care to meet the physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs of our patients, and those of their family and friends. Inpatient Unit (IPU) The IPU has provision for 10 palliative care beds providing support to adults who need pain and symptom control, planned respite, and end of life care. Our multi-disciplinary team combines expert pain and symptom relief with holistic care to meet the physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs of our patients, and those of their family and friends. Inpatient Unit 23/24
24/25
25/26
Total Admissions
241
194
188
Av Bed Occupancy (%)
63
74
75
Total Discharges
69
71
54
% of Patients discharge
29
37
32
% of Patients RIP
71
63
68
Av Length of Stay
10
13
15
Day Hospice Services Our Day Hospice continues to provide high-quality, person-centred support for patients operating at Grosvenor House Monday to Thursday supporting patients and carers through a range of palliative and supporting care services, including Wellbeing Days, Complementary Therapy Clinics and Dementia Workshops. The facilities have undergone significant renovation over this year due to the Capital grant monies from the Department of Health & Social Care. Over the year we have received 586 referrals into our Day Hospice services who access a range of our services. The improvement work to our building impacted on the available sessions to our patients during the year with a lower number of attended appointments. The Day Hospice is a base for The Christie’s outreach service on Wednesdays and Fridays. Page 10
Wellbeing Day
23/24
24/25
25/26
Number of Patients
428
470
428
Number of Appointments Attended
775
863
795
Sep 23- Mar 24
24/25
25/26
Number of Patients
34
44
57
Number of Appointments Attended
53
109
130
Sep 23- Mar 24
24/25
25/26
Number of Patients/carer
133
275
243
Number of Appointments Attended
249
639
500
23/24
24/25
25/26
Number of Patients
Not a service
Not a service
158
Number of Appointments Attended
Not a service
Not a service
247
Relaxation Plus
Carer Drop In
Supportive Care
Page 11
Complementary Therapy Our complementary therapy services delivered a total of 1138 sessions over the year to patients and their carers. Alongside our established nurse‑led complementary therapy clinics, we have introduced a dedicated Supportive Care Complementary Therapy Clinic for patients receiving curative treatment. Community Complementary Therapy, delivered in partnership with CCICP (Central Cheshire Integrated Care Partnership) enables our staff to deliver care to patients within their home and is a well-received service aligning with our strategic aim to deliver care to patients and carers beyond the hospice buildings.
Complementary Therapy SLH
23/24
24/25
25/26
Number of Patients/Carers
Started capturing data for 23/24 Oct 23 256
1092
765
Number of Appointments Attended
856
1530
1138
Complementary Therapy at Home (Community)
23/24
24/25
25/26
Number of Patients/Carers
Not a service
No Data
223
Number of Appointments Attended
Not a service
220
321
Page 12
24-hour advice line The 24 hour Advice line provides 24 hours a day, 7 days a week telephone support for patients, relatives/carers and health professionals. The phone line is staffed by the medical team and registered nurses who provide advice and support and aim to minimise inappropriate hospital escalations, being mindful of a patient’s goals of care and preferred place of care. Over the year we have seen demand for the service grow considerably.
Number of calls
23/24
24/25
25/26
261
256
328
Weekend Hub The weekend hub service offers support and advice every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays from 9am - 5pm over the phone and visiting patients at home if required, to provide extra support and specialist assessment. The service is to bridge a gap over the out of hours periods when other services do not operate. Often it is to discuss symptoms, get advice on certain aspects of the patient’s care or for medication advice.
Number of patient calls
23/24
24/25
25/26
182
269
209
Befriending Service The Befriending Service remains embedded within the Day Hospice team, offering vital social support from volunteer befrienders who make a real positive difference to their lives. This valuable support reduces isolation and loneliness for many patients within the community.
Number of referrals
23/24
24/25
25/26
4
15
27 Page 13
Dementia Service St Luke's is a dementia friendly organisation with facilities that have been designed to take into consideration the experience of the person living with dementia. In August 2025 we commenced our Dementia Specialist Nurse role within Day Hospice for a 12 month period. The dementia services include the Dementia Carers Workshop, an 8week programme offering advice and support for carers of people with dementia. Sing with St Luke's is a fun singing group facilitated by experienced volunteers for people at any stage of dementia to attend with their carer. We also have a Dementia Nurse who can offer one to one support to people in their own homes, intended to enhance community outreach and improve access to services for those unable to attend the Hospice. This service has proved a great success and has developed clear benefits and impact to our patients and their carers. The service offers community outreach, advanced care planning and a workshop approach for patients and carers which has included music therapy workshops. Feedback regarding the service has been very positive. We were delighted to be nominated for two awards at this year’s Cheshire West Community & Voluntary Arts Awards. Our “Living with Dementia, Life with Music” programme, led by Music Therapist Jessica Vaughan, received a Highly Commended recognition from the judges. Our Day Hospice Art Group, supported by our dedicated volunteers, was also shortlisted.
Dementia Patients Workshop
Sept 25 - March 26 Number of Patients
56
Number of Sessions Attended
93
Dementia Carers Workshop
Sept 25 - March 26 Number of Patients
60
Number of Sessions Attended
106
Music Workshop
Sept 25 - March 26 Number of Patients
98
Number of Sessions Attended
162 Page 14
Lymphoedema Service The St Luke's Lymphoedema Service is here to treat and support patients aged 18 years and over, with Primary or Secondary Lymphoedema. The service is run jointly by St Luke's Hospice and Cheshire Community Integrated Care Partnership. Lymphoedema is a long-term condition that is characterised by swelling of the tissues, which can occur anywhere within the body, caused by a failure of the lymphatic system. This can be due to an inherited genetic fault, or damage to the lymphatic system, including treatment for cancer, surgery and infection. The St Luke's Lymphoedema Team is based at St Luke's (Cheshire) Hospice, but we also have clinics in various community settings. Occupational Therapy The Occupational Therapy Service provides palliative rehabilitation across the Inpatient Unit and Day Hospice, supporting patients accessing the hospice for symptom management and admissions for end-of-life care. The Occupational Therapist provides advice and interventions to enable patients to engage in daily and meaningful activities, which may involve assessing for and providing equipment and adaptations, advice on mobility and transfers, managing symptoms, support to achieve quality of life goals, and promoting independence where appropriate. The Occupational Therapist engages patients in interventions to build confidence and assess safety to return home if this is the patient’s wish. The service also supports patients to develop coping strategies to manage symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, and breathlessness which may impact on their ability to engage in activities. During the year we have provided a programme of educational talks within the day hospice Wellbeing Days, including fatigue management, breathlessness management, falls prevention/management, and developing emotional resilience. A new element to the service this year has been the introduction of Virtual Reality (VR) to the hospice which uses an immersive headset device that supplies a ‘wrap around’ environment and sound. VR headsets have been used with IPU patients to support them to access meaningful experiences/ visiting special places they were not able to physically access. The feedback has been positive to date. The aim is to provide further VR interventions to support with symptom management (pain, anxiety, breathlessness, psychological distress) and to capture the benefits of these interventions. Outpatient fatigue management workshops, have been running for the last 18 months, receiving positive feedback from patients on the value of attending and learning how to manage fatigue symptoms. The service also offers fatigue interventions for patients who are unable to attend group workshops. The Occupational Therapist has recently completed Resilience Based Clinical Supervision training at the hospice and will be running staff supervision interventions.
23/24
24/25
25/26
Number of Patients
254
478
398
Number of Contacts
502
1415
1049 Page 15
Homelessness Service This service works with individuals who are experiencing homelessness with a terminal diagnosis and/or who are expected to be in their last years of life. The age of death for the homeless community is often much younger than the general population and their deaths are often unplanned with access to palliative care uncommon. Our service aims to reach out to community with a view to improve accommodation choices, quality of life and to support individuals to make informed choices about their care. During the year the service carried forward 5 referrals from last year and received 14 new referrals. We were able to discharge 14 service users. The majority of referrals originated within the East Cheshire locality, with cancer remaining the predominant diagnosis among individuals supported by the service during 2025/26.
Page 16
Family Support Team This service comprises a range of services including counselling, Bereavement Support, Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy, Benefits Advisor Support and Social worker support. Services are provided by a team of skilled professionals, supported by trained and valued volunteers, whose collective knowledge and experience enhance the quality, continuity and accessibility of care offered. Working in close collaboration with the wider multidisciplinary team, the Family Support Team provides holistic, person-centered support that responds to the emotional, psychological, social and spiritual needs of patients and those important to them, recognising the impact of “total pain” on wellbeing. While the majority of support is provided to Hospice patients and their families, Bereavement Support also extends into the local community, contributing to wider population wellbeing. Although the Hospice is an adult service, the Family Support Team is equipped to offer age-appropriate emotional and psychological support to children and young people where required, ensuring care is inclusive and responsive to the needs of the wider family network. This approach supports positive patient and family experiences and contributes to the delivery of safe, effective and compassionate care.
23/24
24/25
25/26
Number of Referrals
285
316
227
Number of 1-2-1 Adult Sessions Attended
1734
1344
1522
Number of 1-2-1 Children Sessions Attended
235
100
37
Number of Adult Group Sessions Attended
224
232
241
Number of Children Group Sessions Attended
31
36
13
Number of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy Sessions Attended
213
32
46
Social worker Our specialist Palliative Care Social worker provides practical and emotional support for people with life-limiting illnesses and their families who are already involved with St Luke’s through our Day Hospice services or Inpatient Unit. Referrals to other specialist organisations can also be made such as housing, pet rehoming and financial support services including Citizens Advice and Macmillan.
23/24
24/25
25/26
Number of Patients
103
244
246
Number of Contacts
922
890
873 Page 17
Benefits advice The Benefits Advice Service is here to support patients known to St Luke’s and the wider MDT with welfare benefits advice, and with sourcing means to maximise their income. The service has also benefitted from close working relationships with external services to support patients with debt advice and relief when needed. Being supported by the service can significantly reduce feelings of stress and worry associated with the financial impact of living with a palliative illness, and quality of life can be enhanced as a result. Support is offered in person and also remotely, and is responsive to a person’s needs.
Page 18
Training and Development We are committed to professional development for our staff. All patient-facing staff received clinical refresher training and supervision throughout the year. Staff are also compliant with our mandatory training policy requirements.
Education Education of our wider colleagues is a core part of Specialist Palliative Care, and it has been a very successful year in this sphere of our practice: We have appointed a Practice Educator and Facilitator (February 2026), who will provide in house training to clinical staff, as well aspirations to provide external courses for generalist healthcare professional colleagues. Our Advanced Nurse Practitioner within the medical team commenced a Two year Masters in Advanced Practice at Chester University in September 2025, using the apprenticeship route. She is currently mentoring one of the Specialist Palliative Care Nurses within CCICP (our local community NHS Trust) to complete her Independent Prescribing qualification (V300). This willingness to collaborate and nurture colleagues is central to our clinical work. We are a learning environment for student nurses and paramedics on placements, and welcome District Nurses undertaking their Specialist Practice Qualification to shadow our work. We host GP registrars who wish to spend a few days shadowing and are particularly thrilled that both Medical Registrars (Mid-Cheshire Hospital Trust Resident IMT3 Doctors) who have been on 6-month placements at St Luke’s (Cheshire) Hospice over the last 12 months have successfully been appointed to very competitive Higher Specialist Training posts in Palliative Medicine locally. We have provided 5 hours of End of Life education to MCHT Foundation Doctors with Leighton Specialist Palliative Care team colleagues. We hosted a GP information evening on 'hot topics' for primary care colleagues. We have delivered sessions to local GPs in their protected learning time (PLT) on seizure management and pain management update. We have delivered 3 lectures to colleagues via the End Of Life Partnership - in seizure management and pain management, and recognising dying in Motor Neurone Disease. These were to 50 plus delegates for each session. The Occupational Therapist (OT) has been involved in education externally to the hospice, presenting at the End of Life Partnership palliative symptoms in the last 6-12 months of life conference: ‘Managing fatigue and low mood’, and running training sessions on the EOLP Managing breathlessness course. In addition, our Occupational Therapist has contributed to community therapy CPD training sessions to promote the role of the hospice OT and hospice services and regularly offers shadowing opportunities for both physiotherapy and OT professionals within the community hubs, Cheshire East and West councils to spend time at the hospice in order to promote hospice services and the OT role in this setting. We also host an IMT3 doctor (resident medical junior doctor) for 6 monthly rotation within Palliative medicine, sharing the week between the hospice and hospital palliative medicine teams. Page 19
Feedback Throughout the year we have sought feedback from patients, relatives and carers. In addition to the feedback submitted at the Hospice, we also participated in the external audit organised by the Association of Palliative Medicine, in which bereaved relatives are invited to offer their feedback regarding care provided by our Hospice. From the moment you step in to St Luke’s Hospice reception you are met with kindness and support. As for me I was treated like part of the St Luke’s family. I couldn’t have wished for my relative to be in a better place. The Doctors and staff kept me informed daily of their condition. As you can see in the graph, the hospice has achieved 163 completed feedback forms for the following questions. During contact with staff at the hospice or on the phone, do you feel you were treated with a kind and caring attitude? Did you feel that staff showed respect for your values or beliefs? Do you feel you were provided with sufficient information about other hospice services, or other external services which would be of help to you?
Supporting statement: “St Luke’s Hospice (East Cheshire) is a valued partner within Cheshire and Merseyside, working collaboratively to improve palliative and end of life care. Through active involvement in strategic and operational forums, the Hospice helps shape services, strengthen care coordination, and improve access to specialist support. This partnership approach enables more joined-up, high-quality care aligned to patient preferences and system priorities. The Hospice also contributes to shared learning, quality improvement, and workforce development across the system, helping to spread best practice and enhance capability." Sarah Dale, Clinical Director of Quality and Innovation East Cheshire Hospice
Page 20
Progress against 25/26 priorities We set the following priorities for 2025-26 and our achievements are detailed below:
Priority One - Reach Out Continuing to expand our community services. What we have achieved: We commenced our Dementia Service which has delivered clear impact and benefit to our patients. Our service completed a scoping exercise which evidenced an unmet need for people living with dementia and their carers, including those unable to attend hospice-based services. We have been an active participant in local and regional dementia steering groups, ensuring hospice representation and alignment with wider system priorities Community outreach - Completion of home visits and community-based assessments, improving access for individuals, where environment, transport or carer availability present barriers. Advance care planning - Renewal and strengthening of Advance Care Planning involvement, supporting people living with dementia to express preferences earlier and more meaningfully. Music Workshop - Development of a long-term music group offer tailored to people living with dementia, supporting wellbeing, engagement and continuity. Our data demonstrates an increase in demand for our services across the board. A slight increase in admissions into our IPU. Our Dementia service has had high use since its launch, and we have seen a 28% increase in activity in our advice line. This service is used by Health Care professionals and families across our communities. Our complementary therapy in the community has seen an increase of 45% in appointments delivered to patients.
Page 21
Priority Two - Make our buildings even better During this period, we were fortunate to receive a capital grant from the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSE). This grant has enabled us to complete the following work at the Hospice: Refurbishing our Day Hospice to provide a more modern fit for purpose environment for our patients internally and renovating the outside space to enable more activities to take place over the summer months. Our bathrooms in the Day Hospice have also been replaced. We have also upgraded our heating and air conditioning system in our In-patient unit, and installed french doors to two of our side rooms for patients which now allow direct access onto the front courtyard further enhancing the patient environment. We are delighted with the addition of a garden room at the back of the Hospice that will provide much needed multi-use additional space, supporting a number of teams, including counselling and spiritual care and will provide a calm and flexible environment to benefit patients and families alike.
Page 22
Priority Three – Care for more people St Luke’s has continued to provide high-quality, compassionate care and essential support services to patients and their families throughout the year. Demand for our services has remained strong, with a significant increase in calls to our advice line, reflecting the growing need for timely specialist support within the community. Our community-based complementary therapy service continues to experience sustained demand, helping individuals enhance their wellbeing and quality of life. In addition, our Social Worker has provided vital support to 246 patients across our Inpatient Unit and Day Hospice services, assisting patients and families with a wide range of practical, emotional and social care needs. The introduction of our Dementia Service in September has further strengthened our community offering, supporting 56 patients and 60 carers to date. The service has also delivered music workshops attended by 98 patients, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback for their impact on wellbeing, social connection and engagement. As demand for hospice and community-based care continues to grow, St Luke’s remains committed to developing and delivering responsive, person-centred services that enable us to support as many patients and families as possible.
Page 23
Our priorities for 2026-27 St Luke’s is developing a new three-year strategy. Our priorities for 2026/27 are: Priority 1: Further expansion of our community services Demand for Hospice care continues to increase. We will strive to ensure our services are accessible by as many patients across our community as possible by supporting patients with long-term conditions (e.g. neurodegenerative conditions, dementia, heart failure) and building relationships with them before deterioration. This will include expanding our existing services and exploring new models of support that help patients remain in the community for longer, in line with the NHS 10-Year Plan shift from hospital to community-based care. Priority 2: Reducing inequalities and improving equity of access National and local data show that hospice services are underused by people with non-cancer diagnoses, those from deprived communities, and some minority groups within Cheshire. To ensure fair and equitable access to hospice care for all communities we will: Increase referrals for non-cancer conditions (e.g. neurodegenerative conditions, dementia, heart failure) Develop targeted outreach and community engagement programmes Work with system partners to identify under-served populations. Priority 3: Enhancing integration and partnership working across Cheshire Integrated working across health and social care improves patient experiences and reduces avoidable hospital admissions. St Luke’s will continue to play a key role across our Cheshire footprint in delivering co-ordinated, seamless care. We will: Strengthen partnerships with primary care, hospitals, and community teams and neighbourhood services. Support earlier identification of patients approaching end of life Contribute to reducing avoidable hospital admissions wherever possible St Luke’s also continues to be an active member of the Cheshire and Merseyside Hospice collaborative and will work with partners to enhance patient care. Priority 4: Education Education remains one of our core pillars, and our priority is to improve the quality and consistency of delivery. We will achieve this by: Making full use of the Practice Education facilitator role, which will play a key part in strengthening our in-house education offer. Our training will align with our clinical standards and values, leading to more consistent, high-quality care. We will regularly review and update programmes based on audit findings and feedback. Page 24
Our priorities for 2026-27 Alongside the development of existing staff, we will continue to support student nurses and paramedics on placement, and we will continue to welcome District Nurses undertaking their Specialist Practice Qualification to shadow our work. We will host GP registrars who wish to gain experience at the Hospice. Priority 5: Good to outstanding Building on our CQC rating of ‘Good’ across our services, we will continue our improvement journey towards ‘Outstanding’. We will do this by maintaining strong clinical governance frameworks, listening to and acting on feedback from our patients, carers and staff, and using technology to support efficient working and provide robust reporting to underpin an intelligence- led approach. Priority 6: Our buildings We are planning for the future to ensure our facilities continue to support the growing needs of our community. This includes exploring options for St Luke’s, whether that involves developing our current site or moving to a new location. As demand for our services increases, we want to ensure we have flexible, modern, and sustainable facilities that enable us to provide outstanding care for patients and their families. Our aim is to create an environment that supports high-quality care today while preparing for the needs of future generations. Monitoring and governance Progress against these priorities will be monitored through: Quarterly Quality and Governance Committee reports Audit and performance dashboards Patient, family and staff feedback Collaboration with partners across Cheshire and Mersey.
Page 25
Feedback Feedback from service users and the general public on our Quality Account is very welcome. If you have any comments or queries please do not hesitate to contact:
Chief Executive Officer St Luke’s (Cheshire) Hospice Grosvenor House Queensway Winsford Cheshire CW7 1BH
Telephone: 01606 551246 www.slhospice.co.uk We strive to deliver excellent care and welcome feedback via our regulator the Care Quality Commission on your experience of our care. Details can be found at www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care