The Care Quality Commission
  • Hospice service

Archived: Shooting Star House

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

The Avenue, Hampton, Middlesex, TW12 3RA (020) 8783 2000

Provided and run by:
Shooting Star Children's Hospices

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

All Inspections

2 - 3 December 2019

During a routine inspection

Shooting Star House is operated by Shooting Star Children’s Hospice. The hospice runs a number of services including eight inpatient beds and a hospice at home service seven days a week, and a specialist palliative community nursing team that conducts assessments and provides children, young people and their families with care, support and advice in their own homes.

The hospice provides care and treatment for children and young person with a life-limiting condition who are aged from pre-birth to 21 years.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out the unannounced part of the inspection from 2 to 3 December 2019.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led? Where we have a legal duty to do so we rate services’ performance against each key question as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Services we rate

Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as Good overall.

  • Staff kept children, young people and their families safe from harm and abuse. Risks were assessed, monitored and managed appropriately.

  • Staff followed best practice in relation to infection prevention and control.

  • Care and treatment records were accurate, stored securely and provided comprehensive details of care and treatment.

  • Staff recognised incidents and knew how to report them. Managers investigated incidents and made improvements to the service.

  • Staff had the appropriate skills, training, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.

  • Staff delivered care and treatment in line with evidence-based practice.

  • Staff involved children, young people, their families and carers in decisions about their care and treatment.

  • Staff cared for children, young people and their families with compassion, treating them with dignity and respect. Staff truly respected and valued children and your people as individuals and empowered them as partners in their care, practically and emotionally, by offering an exceptional service.

  • The service was proactive in meeting the needs of children and young people from the whole community. The services provided reflected the needs of the population served and ensured flexibility, choice and continuity of care.

  • The service was proactive at engaging with groups that were hard to reach to ensure equitable access to its services.

  • There were clear processes for staff to manage complaints and concerns.

  • There was an open and transparent culture, with engaged and experienced leadership.

    However, we also found the following issues that the service provider needs to improve:

  • The storage of equipment did not always keep people safe. We found that equipment was stored in toilets and other areas of the service which were not in line with good practice.

  • Not all outcome measures collected by the service were reported on during governance meetings meaning that outcome measures did not always shape and improve services.

    Nigel Acheson

    Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (London)

8 July 2014

During a routine inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by the Care quality Commission (CQC) which looks at the overall quality of the service.

This was an announced inspection. During the visit, we spoke with the parents of eight different children, five care staff and the registered manager.

In October 2013, our inspection found that the service was compliant with the regulations we inspected against.

Shooting Star House Hospice provides in house care for up to eight children, day care and home care. This is for children and young people up to the age of twenty-one with life limiting conditions and support for their families is also provided.

The home had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

People told us they were extremely happy with the service they received, way it was delivered and the staff who delivered it. They said it was responsive to their changing needs and well-led. During our inspection visit we saw that staff were appropriately skilled, understood the needs of children and young people using the service and delivered care and support in a professional, compassionate and supportive way. This was delivered in a safe environment. Staff had received thorough induction and on going training and understood and embraced the values and philosophy of the hospice.

The sample of records we looked at, including five care plans were well kept, fully completed and regularly reviewed. The staff at all levels of seniority were well trained, knowledgeable, professional and accessible to children using the service, their relatives and staff in the field.

The registered manager and organisation encouraged feedback from children and their families and consistently monitored and assessed the quality of the service provided.

1 October 2013

During a routine inspection

We spoke with the relatives of five children who had received a service at Shooting Star House. Relatives told us that they were asked for their consent at all stages of the care their children had received. "I've not had to complain, they are amazing staff and wonderful people; they understand exactly how to provide an excellent service".

We spoke with fourteen staff of varied grades and positions including the service manager, practice educators, nursery nurses, play coordinators, nurses, volunteer, catering and maintenance staff, and hospice at home staff. During our inspection we saw that Shooting Star House provided various toys, games, activities, sensory experiences and play therapy for children at the service and their siblings.

One staff member said "We have regular contact with several London hospitals to discuss care, treatment and clinical decisions". Senior staff explained that a meeting had taken place with therapists to discuss how to monitor equipment. People were protected from unsafe or unsuitable equipment because the provider took reasonable steps to maintain, monitor and update staff on the safe use of equipment.

During discussions with clinical governance, the practice educator and senior staff we learned that each staffing grade had core skill competencies. Competencies had been drafted for a variety of nursing roles, care skills and clinical activities.

There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs.

14 January 2013

During a routine inspection

There were four children receiving care at the hospice during our inspection. We spoke to two families and eight members of staff from a variety of roles including two volunteers. We observed the interactions between staff, children and their families and saw children receiving care and support which met their individual needs. Families we spoke to also confirmed there was good support available for parents.

All the families we talked to spoke very highly of the service. One said "I have every confidence in the staff".

The hospice offered a welcoming environment and had a number of different activity areas including music therapy room, hydrotherapy pool, sensory room, relaxation/interview rooms and two communal areas. There was a "chill zone" for young adults who had been involved in the interior design. A spacious garden area was being refurbished.

We spoke to six members of staff from a range of roles who told us about the training and support they received. They said "there were plenty of training opportunities and workshops were held on site". The hospice had an education department and we met the practice education facilitator and clinical educator who provided an overview of the training programme.

Staffing levels at the hospice and the skills and knowledge of staff were suitable and appropriate to meet the children's and young people's needs. We spoke with staff who confirmed they regularly provided one to one care including night shifts.