St Andrew’s Hospice has been praised by its regulator, Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) for the way it has continued to deliver compassionate, person-centred care by adapting its services and practices throughout the COVID pandemic.

An unannounced inspection took place on Monday 15^th March, which saw three inspectors look specifically at two key quality indicators: the delivery of safe, compassionate and person-centred care and quality improvement focused leadership. The charity’s healthcare regulator applied the grade of ‘Good’ to both.

The Hospice was issued with no requirements and 4 recommendations, 3 of which were implemented by the following day.

Joy Farquharson, Chief Executive of St Andrew’s Hospice said: “I welcome this report which comes at the end of a very challenging year for everyone at St Andrew’s Hospice. This report recognises that our staff have continued to ensure that the services we provide to patients and their families remains person-centred and compassionate, despite the restrictions placed upon all healthcare professionals due to COVID.

“I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all of our staff for their dedication to St Andrew’s Hospice. Despite often difficult and worrying personal situations, they have put patients and families first to ensure the care St Andrew’s Hospice has delivered for the last 35 years has continued throughout the pandemic. I would also like to thank the public and business community of Lanarkshire who have continued to support us throughout this challenging time. Without their vital support, we could not deliver all of our services.

“Our team is now working hard to develop road maps out of COVID in relation to both clinical services and fundraising activities and I have no doubt that the people of Lanarkshire will continue to support us throughout.”

The full report is available at https://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/inspecting_and_regulating_care/independent_healthcare/hospices/st_andrews_hospice.aspx