21.11.14
CQC ranks mental health trusts by risk of poor care
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a ranking of NHS mental health trusts according to risk as part of its method of deciding which trusts to inspect first.
Part of the watchdog’s ‘intelligent monitoring’ tool, the rankings are decided through analysis of 59 different sources of evidence, ranging from concerns raised by healthcare staff, bed occupancy rates, to staff and patient surveys.
After the analysis the trusts have been placed into bands from one to four, going from highest perceived risk to lowest perceived risk.
Of the 39 trusts within these bands only four are in band one, while a third are in band four.
The CQC says that the analysis “shows that the majority of NHS trusts that provide mental health services in England appear to be of low concern.”
The watchdog also stresses that the banding is not a judgment of performance but an indication about what the quality of their care could be like.
Dr Paul Lelliott, lead inspector for mental health at CQC, said: “We have developed this ‘intelligent monitoring’ tool to give our inspection teams a clear indication of the aspects of care that may warrant further investigation on their inspections. While the bandings are not judgements of quality, we hope NHS trusts will use our analysis to reflect on where they may need to improve.
“It is encouraging that of the NHS trusts that provide mental health services within bands, over a third is of lowest concern. Those that give us the greatest concern will be prioritised for inspection so that we can be confident people receive safe, high-quality and compassionate care.”
Of the 39 banded NHS trusts that provide mental health services, four are in band one, 16 are in band two, two are in band three and 16 are in band four. Seventeen trusts were not placed in bandings as they have already been recently inspected.
While this is the first time that CQC has published ‘intelligent monitoring’ for NHS trusts that provide mental health services, CQC has been publishing this analysis for acute NHS trusts since last October, which it updates every three months. Earlier this week, it published the first ‘intelligent monitoring’ information for general practices following the publication of its first two inspection reports of Outstanding general practices in England.
The new rankings were welcomed by Healthwatch England and mental health charities.
Dr Katherine Rake OBE, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said: “It comes as no surprise that access to beds and the general quality of mental health facilities have both been flagged by this report. Patients and their loved ones have been raising these concerns with local Healthwatch right across the country for some time.
“Four of the country’s NHS trusts that provide mental health services fall into the CQC’s highest risk category and action must be taken now to ensure that patients of these facilities in question are accessing quality care.
“We hope that armed with this new intelligence, the inspectors will be able to target their efforts. It is critical that standards are driven up to ensure everyone has access to the same high quality care.”
Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, added: “While we know that in some parts of the country services are very good, in too many places services are failing people when they are unwell. We are pleased to see that the CQC is looking to listen to the views of both staff and people who use services and making the most of the intelligence available to really get behind the scenes of mental health services.”
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