The Care Quality Commission (CQC), has rated acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units (PICU) at Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust as good following an inspection in January.
Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust provide six acute wards and one PICU across The Redwoods Centre in Shrewsbury and St George’s Hospital in Stafford.
CQC carried out the unannounced inspection of the service to follow up on the progress of improvements they were told to make at their previous inspection.
The overall rating for the service, as well as the ratings for how safe and well-led the service is, have improved from inadequate to good. How effective the service is has improved from requires improvement to good, while how caring and responsive the service is have been re-rated as good.
Andy Brand, CQC deputy director of operations in the midlands, said:
“At our inspection of Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust’s wards, we were really pleased to find the trust had used our previous report and taken on board our feedback to make improvements. They were now providing a safe service that met people’s individual needs, which was driven by strong leadership.
“People told us that they felt safe, listened to and supported by staff, who made sure their needs were met. Staff involved people in their care, and made sure information was presented in various ways to help people understand their treatment. People using the service had the opportunity to feedback through various ways, including a weekly community meeting.
“It was encouraging to see how different wards and teams worked together to support each other and share resources when needed. The trust’s community teams had a thorough process to review referrals using all of the essential information to make sure hospital admission was appropriate for the individual and whether they could meet that person’s specific needs.
“People using the services had access to a range of different activities. The occupational therapy teams and activity coordinators organised a range of opportunities, including board games, video games, yoga, live music and cookery. St George’s Hospital also had an allotment for people to work on which people really enjoyed.
“All staff knew how to report and properly document incidents. This meant that staff and leaders could investigate thoroughly to identify learning opportunities and reduce the risk of these happening again, promoting a culture of safety and learning which helped keep people safe.
“Staff and leaders at Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust should be proud of the findings of our report. It was clear to see the hard work that had gone into making the improvements identified since our previous inspection. We look forward to visiting again and seeing their continued progress.”
Inspectors found:
- Staff kept people’s care plans up-to-date and showed that people were fully assessed before leaving the units.
- The wards worked closely with partners to ensure that people had consistent care while moving in and out of services.
- Staff were polite and treated people with kindness and respect. They were approachable and available when people needed them. Leaders understood the service and had the necessary skills, knowledge and experience. Staff told us that leaders were approachable, open and visible.
- Leaders made sure there were enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs.
- Leaders monitored the use of restraint and restrictive interventions and made sure staff were appropriately trained.
- The trust used an app called Patients Knows Best which meant that people could access their own healthcare record on their personal device.
- The wards embraced different cultures and gave people the choice on how to express themselves. People could access chaplaincy and spiritual support for different faiths.
- The wards provided information and resources for people whose first language wasn’t English.
However:
- Staff hadn’t fully completed equality, diversity and inclusion information in care records. A transformation project was improving the quality and consistency of records completion.
The report will be published on CQC’s website in the coming days.