Updated 20 April 2017
We rated the Priory Hospital Southampton as good overall.
We last inspected the service in September 2015. Following that inspection, we took enforcement action against the provider, in the form of a warning notice. This was primarily in relation to failings in the provider’s governance of the service that affected the safety and well-being of patients. We also gave the provider two Requirement Notices, relating to safe care and treatment and statutory notifications, which we followed up on at this inspection. We found the provider had taken appropriate steps to address the concerns we had found previously and the hospital’s staff had worked hard to implement significant improvements.
At this inspection (8 and 9 February 2017), we found the provider had taken appropriate steps to ensure the safety of patients and staff at the service. They had taken appropriate steps to address risks to patients from the environment. Wards were well maintained and in a good state of repair. As we found at our previous inspection, there remained a number of issues related to the physical environment and layout of the wards. These issues were partly due to the hospital being in an old, historic building. For example, internal walls and alcoves on corridors made it difficult to ensure good lines of sight for staff in all ward areas. The provider had introduced additional measures to address those issues with the environment.
Sufficient numbers of staff of the right grades and experience were generally available to meet the needs of patients. There was a good range of activities, education and therapeutic interventions. However, patients said that there were fewer outings and activities on the weekends. Ward teams were multi-disciplinary and had the input of a full range of staff. Ward staff also worked effectively with other teams involved in each patient’s care. The provider ensured staff had access to a broad range of in-house and additional specialised training, together with sufficient supervision. Staff felt well supported in their roles and expressed a sense of pride in the standards of care they were providing. Ward and hospital managers were thought well of by staff, and were able to lead with appropriate authority.
Staff were sincere and caring in the way they interacted with and supported patients. They involved people in their care, and offered patients choices and access to advocacy. There was appropriate involvement of families and carers. Patients were able to give feedback on the service they received, and met regularly with staff to discuss general issues or concerns.
Staff felt able to raise concerns without fear of victimisation, and told us their immediate managers were supportive and listened to them. They described the hospital’s senior team as responsive and open to suggestions for improvements to services. Although staff morale had been affected by changes that had taken place at the hospital in recent months, most of the staff we spoke with told us they were happy to be working at the hospital and that morale was improving.
However, we also found a number of areas where the provider could make further improvements:
Some staff told us they did not always feel sufficiently trained or prepared to support the high and complex needs of some of the patients. Similarly, a number of patients told us that they felt the care and support delivered by agency staff was not always to the standard provided by the hospital’s permanent staff.
Although we found improvement since our previous inspection, there remained some variance in quality of care records across the three wards. We saw evidence of ongoing support for people’s physical health.