A Bradford mental health hospital’s Care Quality Commission overall rating has remained as inadequate following its latest inspection.
The CQC carried out a focused inspection of Bradford-based Cygnet Woodside in March to find whether improvements had been made after a previous unannounced focused inspection in September 2020. Following that September inspection, the hospital was rated inadequate and placed in special measures.
CQC also imposed conditions on Cygnet Woodside meaning it was unable to accept any new admissions without written agreement from CQC, while managers had to provide regular reports on improvements made.
Following this latest inspection, the overall rating remains as inadequate. The service was also rated inadequate for being safe, effective, well led and responsive, and rated requires improvement for being caring.
The provider has since closed the hospital temporarily for refurbishment, with all patients moved to alternative services by the end of May this year.
What inspectors found
Inspectors found that most patients had been at the hospital for long periods, that patient needs were not met by the physical environment of the hospital, that staff failed to monitor and evaluate each patient’s outcomes meaningfully, that support patient support was not seamless across services and between professionals involved in the patient’s life, that the culture of the hospital did not fully support people using the service to lead “confident, inclusive and empowered” lives and that while service leaders had made some improvements since the last inspection, this was not always fully effective and did not always consider how patient quality of life could be fully promoted and how it fully had regard to ‘Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture’.
Insufficient improvements
Commenting on the CQC’s action, Debbie Ivanova, CQC’s deputy chief inspector for people with a learning disability and autistic people, said: “During our inspection of Cygnet Woodside, we found that the improvements made since our previous inspection were not enough to ensure people were safe and receiving the best possible care.
“People were not always supported by staff who could meet and anticipate their caring needs. Also, there were not enough staff working at night, especially as the hospital had two floors and staff had to work between these.
During our out of hours visit, we saw that two people went for significant periods of time without support.
“We found that people stayed at the hospital for a long time. This was even though the hospital website described it as an assessment, treatment and fast stream rehabilitation unit where people should only stay for short periods of time.
“When we saw staff spending time with people, they did receive kind and compassionate care and most relatives spoke highly of the regular, experienced staff and the care their loved one received.
“Following our inspection, the provider recognised the building was not fully fit for purpose and decided to close the hospital. It worked closely with people, their families and staff to find alternative services for people.”
Disappointment at overall rating
In response, a spokesperson for Cygnet Woodside said: “Although we are disappointed with the overall rating, the CQC report reflects the many improvements that had been made since the last inspection and acknowledges that people received kind and compassionate care from our staff who protected their privacy and dignity.
“As the report highlights, people were safe from abuse, and relatives of service users also spoke highly of our regular, experienced staff who they felt were keeping people safe and knew their needs well. Although concerns could be raised easily, the report confirms there had not been any recent complaints.
“As is Cygnet’s priority, people and those important to them were supported to make day to day decisions around their care and treatment and our staff and specialists had received additional relevant training to meet people’s needs. Our care focused on helping patients return to the community and to live as independently as possible, and the report highlights that staff planned and managed discharges well and liaised with hospitals that would provide aftercare.
“Despite this progress, we also recognised early in the year that work needed to be done to maintain the physical environment of the hospital and, in consultation with the CQC and commissioners, we have temporarily closed the hospital for maintenance work. This was done sensitively and over a longer period so that our staff could work with services that provide aftercare to ensure people received the right care and support in their new placements, and this is also noted in the CQC report.
“We continue to work closely and collaboratively with the regulator and other stakeholders and look forward re-opening.”