Beacon of Light in Holmfirth

Published 19th January 2012

White Rose House has been awarded Beacon Status by the Gold Standards Framework Team for end of life care.

White Rose House in Holmfirth was one of the first nursing homes in the UK to attain a Gold Standard Hallmark. Following the review prior to Christmas, the nursing and residential team were praised for their ongoing innovation and development of services and awarded the highest accolade under the GSF scheme.

Those care homes that achieve Beacon Status are few and far between with only a small handful of nursing homes achieving the standard each year. The nationally recognised award reflects excellence in the care homes approach to palliative end of life care. It recognises dedication and commitment to the delivery of high quality care for patients nearing the end of their lives.

'Dedication, care and genuinely trying to understand what residents and the families want at this time' is the key to success according to Christine Evans, manager at White Rose House. Christine became a clinical associate for the national GSF programme after studies at Leeds University in 2010. She has been asked by Meridian Healthcare, owners of White Rose House to provide support to other managers in the group working towards the Gold Standard.

'Families want to know that unnecessary hospital admissions are avoided and that their relative is allowed the dignity to live out their last days in a comfortable place with familiar staff who have cared for them throughout their stay with us.'

The Gold Standard Framework was developed by GPs as a way to improve palliative care within primary care settings. In 2009 the scheme was opened up to care homes, at which point White Rose House became accredited with the original Gold Standard Hallmark.

For more information on White Rose House visit: www.meridiancare.co.uk/whiterose