The Priory Hospital Woking has undertaken a full environmental review after it was downgraded from good to requiring improvement by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and ordered to make improvements or face conditions being imposed on its registration.
The hospital provides an acute inpatient treatment programme for a range of conditions, including depression and anxiety and treatment for patients with substance or behaviour addiction issues. It cares for up to 35 adults.
It was previously rated good overall and in all elements, but following the CQC’s June inspection, the overall rating dropped to requires improvement.
The ratings for being safe and well-led were reduced to requires improvement, however ratings for being effective, caring and responsive remained good.
When contacted by Health & Protection, a spokesperson for the hospital revealed it has now undertaken a full environmental review of the site to ensure patient safety is robust.
Areas of concern
Areas of concerns highlighted included that management of ligature risks were not robust, staff did not have written guidance including patient’s risk of self-harm or suicide, and reasons for decreasing observation or risk assessment were not recorded.
However, inspectors also found leaders had the skills and knowledge to perform their roles, that staff felt respected and valued and treated patients with compassion and kindness, that ward teams had access to the range of specialists required to meet patient needs and that the service managed safety incidents well.
CQC head of hospital inspection for mental health Karen Bennet-Wilson said: “When we last inspected the hospital in April 2019, we told the provider that they must undertake an assessment of potential ligature risks in the hospital, which could lead to people harming themselves.
“However, we found that ligature risks are still present in some of the wards, and in corridors in the hospital, and there was a lack of robust management of these risks in place. This is not acceptable when caring for people who may be at risk of harming themselves.
“We were also concerned about the management of risk when allocating bedrooms to patients. We also pointed out that people could be exposed to risk of harm after patients told us that they were not appropriately searched or drug tested when being admitted to the hospital or returning from leave.
“However, patients did tell us that they felt safe and comfortable in the hospital and that staff were kind, respectful and polite and they genuinely cared about the wellbeing of patients. Patients said they were involved in their care decisions, although they were not given copies of their care plans.”
Bennet-Wilson noted improvements from its action plan had already started to be put in place.
Full environmental review
In response, a hospital spokesman said: “We have undertaken a full environmental review of the site to ensure patient safety is robust, and the delivery of consistent high-quality care, and have provided the CQC with assurances that effective systems are in place, or well underway.
“These include implementing further staff training around searches, and introducing additional procedures around admissions.”
Rooms are being refurbished with enhanced safety features for the most unwell patients so they can be looked after safely but in the least restrictive environment possible.
And the hospital noted the CQC commented on staff treating patients with ‘compassion and kindness’, with specialists having the skills to provide the best care.
“We are confident that the steps we are taking will enable the hospital to be rated ‘good’ overall when the CQC returns,” the spokesman added.
The Priory Group noted 84.2% of its CQC-registered healthcare sites in England were rated good or outstanding, higher than for NHS England mental healthcare sites at 82% and the independent mental health sector in England as a whole at 77%.