St Ann’s Hospice is a place of warmth and hope in the face of serious illness. Its committed staff thrive in a positive atmosphere of teamwork and professionalism.

For palliative care, the goal is to maximise quality of life. But hospices do more than provide residential care for the terminally ill. St Ann’s treats patients for pain and offers rehabilitation following radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery. Half its patients are discharged following respite care.

The staff comprise social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, counsellors, pharmacists, pastoral carers and medical staff as well as administrators. Teamwork is therefore essential and it seems to be working: 86% have confidence in the abilities of others in their team, and 80% report a strong sense of family, the third and sixth-highest scores respectively for these questions.

St Ann’s is an independent charity with the biggest adult hospice facilities in the UK. It has three bases: hospices in Heald Green and Little Hulton in Greater Manchester, with 66 beds between them, and the Neil Cliffe Cancer Care Centre at Wythenshawe hospital.

The hospice movement follows the vision of Dame Cicely Saunders: “You matter because you are you, and you matter until the last moment of your life. We will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully but to help you live until you die.” At St Ann’s, 92% of the staff say the organisation has strong principles for treating people well.

One might expect a sombre working environment, but laughter is therapeutic for both patients and staff. Terry McDonnell, chief executive at St Ann’s, describes it as “a place of hope, not doom and gloom. You see people’s courage, which is very uplifting”. Results from our survey support this assertion: 87% of staff say they laugh a lot with people in their team.

Staff nurse Sue Stenson says there is a balance to be struck between lightening the mood and being sensitive to patients and their families at a difficult time in their lives. “You have to laugh with the patients — I think it helps them,” she says. Sometimes you do have unhappiness and stress, but if you can have a laugh with your colleagues it helps you through.”

Training is a strong point: 79% of staff feel they get support from their manager when they need to learn new skills.

High job satisfaction offsets relatively low pay. Cathy Eliot, the fundraising manager, values “a sense of waking up in the morning and knowing you will be making a difference”. Her colleagues agree: 84% believe they can make a valuable contribution to the success of the organisation and 88% are proud to work for the organisation, a top-10 score.

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