Bishop Auckland hospice rated inadequate and told to improve

Butterwick Hospice Care was founded in 1984

A hospice has been rated inadequate and told to improve to ensure "safe patient care".

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) gave the rating to Butterwick Hospice in Bishop Auckland after it found some staff were not properly trained.

However, a report on Butterwick House in Stockton - which was previously rated inadequate and run by the same firm - found it had improved.

The charity said it was committed to improving.

The inspection at Butterwick Hospice, which provides adult hospice services including palliative and neurological day care as well as a home care service, found staff were "caring and compassionate".

However, the latest inspection also found "policies to ensure the safe and effective running of the service either lacked detail or were non-existent".

The CQC report added: "We found staff were giving medicine to patients in their own homes without the necessary training which could put people at risk."

'Disappointed'

Butterwick House - which cares for children and young people - was previously rated as inadequate in four out of five inspection categories, in September 2021.

However, after an inspection in February, its rating for being safe and well-led went up from inadequate to requires improvement, and its ratings for being effective and responsive improved from inadequate to good.

They also found its rating for caring remained good.

Commenting on the Bishop Auckland facility inspection, Paul Bury - chairman of Butterwick Hospice Care - said: "The inspection in February, highlighted a number of issues with our palliative homecare service.

"We immediately paused the service, created an action plan, redeveloped the service and trained staff.

"Although we were disappointed with CQC's initial findings, we are confident that the service that we relaunched in April meets the requirements of the CQC and the needs of our community."

He added staff at the Stockton centre were "delighted" their hard work had paid off.