Enter and view: Katharine House Hospice

Healthwatch Oxfordshire made an Enter and View visit to Katharine House Hospice in March 2026. 

The hospice provides specialist palliative care for adults with an incurable illness across north Oxfordshire and south Northamptonshire. The service is run by Katharine House Hospice in partnership with Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) and Katharine House Hospice charity.

This visit was part of a programme of visits to a range of services within Oxfordshire. 

During this visit Healthwatch Oxfordshire heard from one patient and eight family and carers, and 16 members of staff.

Key findings

• The hospice is easy to find, with friendly reception staff and volunteers on hand to direct patients and visitors to where they would like to go.
• The reception area is welcoming, well organised and provides lots of accessible and useful information on end‑of‑life and palliative care.
• The building is exceptionally clean, comfortable and thoughtfully designed throughout.
• All patient rooms open directly onto well‑maintained gardens, which are easily accessible even for patients in beds or wheelchairs. Visitors can sleep in patient rooms or in a dedicated visitor room.
• Patients and relatives reported high satisfaction, praising communication, staff kindness and professionalism, and the quality of care and food.
• Staff described the hospice as a wonderful place to work, highlighting strong teamwork, and good support for training and career development.

Recommendations

In its report, Healthwatch Oxfordshire made the following recommendations:

• Provide and display clear information on how people can access an interpreting service.
• Provide opportunity for paper-based feedback as well as online.
• Install hearing loops in the hospice to improve accessibility for patients with hearing impairments.
• Work with patient transport providers to improve communication and planning to provide a seamless experience for patients.
• Review plans about housekeeping services to ensure where possible they are available when needed.

The Head of Patient Experience at OUH responded to the report setting out how it intended to implement the suggestions made.