Staff at St Clare Hospice are celebrating after receiving top marks in a recent inspection.

The Hastingwood hospice, which cares for people with life-limiting illnesses on the west Essex and the east Hertfordshire border, was given a clean bill of health after the November 25 check by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The hospice met essential standards of quality and safety in five key areas, including the care and welfare of patients, cleanliness and infection control and availability and suitability of equipment.

Director of patient care, Louise Cameron, said: “At St Clare Hospice, we are committed to providing first-class care and our staff and volunteers work incredibly hard to ensure the best possible patient experience, so we are delighted that this has been formally recognised by the Care Quality Commission.

“Our patients and their families gave some extremely positive feedback about the services we provide, so it is especially satisfying that this endorsement by those who come to St Clare has also been reflected in the CQC report.”

Patients spoke positively to inspectors about the care they received at St Clare, praising the individually tailored care, high standards of cleanliness and comfortable surroundings.

Inspectors were also impressed by the hospice's catering service and how the chef happily allows patients to go off-menu to order meals to suit their varying dietary requirements.

The hospice was last week awarded a cheque for £5,500 by the Guardian's charitable arm the Gannett Foundation.