A County Durham mental health hospital previously slammed for not being Covid-19 safe and even missing that a woman had not eaten for 10 days has been praised for turning itself around.
The Cygnet Appletree mental health hospital in Meadowfield had previously been branded unsafe, subject to enforcement action and unable to take on new patients. That came after a shocking Care Quality Commission report following an inspection in April and May 2020.
But now a new inspection has found that the service, which caters for women with acute mental health needs, has improved dramatically. Now it is rated "good" - and inspectors praised the "significant improvements" seen over the past year.
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The CQC team, which visited in October 2022, found the service was "good" across all five metrics: being safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. Although the inspectors did identify there remained room for improvement - including that some care plans were "repetitive" and vacancies meant not all shifts had the requisite two registered nurses - the inspectors highlighted a range of improvements.
These included that care plans were "comprehensively assessed" and that staff "worked well together as a multidisciplinary team".
Sarah Dronsfield, CQC deputy director of operations, said: "When we inspected Cygnet Appletree, we were pleased to find that the service had made significant improvements since our last visit in 2021. We found leaders had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their roles. They also had a good understanding of the service and were visible and approachable for people and staff.
"The service was providing safe care and the ward environments were clean and well maintained. We also found, the wards usually had enough staff who assessed and managed risk well. Staff minimised the use of restrictive practices, managed medicines safely and followed good practice with regards to safeguarding people."
Ms Dronsfield added that staff treated patients with "compassion and kindness" and "respected people’s privacy and dignity". She added that patients were involved in their care and said: "Cygnet Appletree should be proud of the progress they have made since our last inspection to ensure people are receiving safe care. We will continue to monitor it and will re-inspect to ensure improvements continue to be sustained and embedded."
Hospital director Martin Graham said: "I am so pleased with this outcome for Team Appletree. It is confirmation of the great care they provide to patients who come to Appletree at a very difficult time in their lives. All staff have contributed to the growth and success of the hospital and I am very proud of them and the rating we have achieved through teamwork.”
Other highlights of the report include praise for staff who "minimised the use of restrictive practices" and planned and managed discharges well. The report is to be published on the CQC website on Friday.
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