CQC rules further improvements needed at Midlands Partnership NHS Trust

A further inspection by the Care Quality Commission has found that an NHS trust that was told to improve over fears for the safety of mental health patients still needs to do more.

The health watchdog said they were not assured that staff at Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust were recording all safety incidents.  They added that although the trust had improved on a warning notice earlier in the year, there were new concerns.

CQC inspectors visited acute adult wards and psychiatric intensive care units at George’s Hospital in Stafford and The Redwoods Centre in Shrewsbury in June.

They found staff did not consistently respond to potential risk incidents in a timely way and did not mitigate against the risk of further incidents occurring.  They also found that staff did not always report incidents, including those involving safety.

They did, however, say that the trust was working with Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service on a “robust plan” after the last inspection identified there had been four fires at The Redwoods Centre.

CQC’s deputy director of operations in the Midlands, Andy Brand, said “Although it was encouraging to see that leaders and staff had worked hard to address the issues highlighted during our previous inspection, it was also disappointing to find additional areas where improvements need to be made.

“We’ve reported our findings to the provider and they know what they must address and the areas in which they’ve improved.”

Neil Carr, the trust’s chief executive, said “Whilst recognising the important strides forward we’ve made, we know there is still more to be done.  We note the CQC’s additional areas for improvement and we remain committed to learning and improving.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (jacquelinevance@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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