26.08.15
Northamptonshire FT services rated 'patchy' – CQC
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has identified a “marked contrast” in the quality of services offered by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
In a recent inspection, after which the CQC rated the trust as requiring improvement, inspectors found that all community health services were failing – while two of the mental health core services were ‘outstanding’.
The trust had 12% of staff posts vacant during the inspection, with particular shortages in community nursing staff and therapists.
Some ward environment were also deemed not safe, with patients at risk not always being fully protected at the Quayside rehabilitation unit, on both the child and adolescent mental health wards and in the gardens at St Mary’s Hospital. Three seclusion rooms also failed to meet necessary standards.
Despite this, patients and carers offered positive feedback, saying treatment was delivered in a “sensitive and dignified manner” and staff were “dedicated and kind”.
The older people’s mental health inpatient service at the Forest Centre was also commended by inspectors due to “state of the art facilities, excellent use of therapeutic tools and the involvement of patients with their own care”.
CQC’s deputy chief inspector of hospitals and lead for mental health, Dr Paul Lelliott, said: “The quality of the services provided by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was patchy. We rated a lot of its service, particularly the community health services, as ‘requires improvement’.
“On the other hand, we found that the wards at the Forest Center for older people with mental health problems and the substance misuse service were ‘outstanding’. Overall, we found a committed and caring workforce and we heard a lot of positive feedback from patients and carers.”
The CQC identified a number of areas where the trust must improve, including providing a plan as a first step to address issues.
Part of the demands include better compliance with the Mental Health Act code of practice and the Department of Health guidance on same sex accommodation, as well as providing sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff.