Archived: The Huntercombe Hospital-Cotswold Spa

Updated 15 June 2016

The Huntercombe Hospital - Cotswold Spa opened in 2010 and is owned by the Huntercombe Group, a subsidiary of the Four Seasons Group. The unit is a small independent hospital providing a specialist eating disorder service for children and young people aged 11-25 years. The service provides care and treatment for both male and female patients, funded by the NHS. The unit is a converted house set over three floors. The ground floor has a reception area, offices, therapy rooms, the classroom, the dining room, a skills kitchen, the unit kitchen, a family room and access to the gardens. The first floor has bedrooms and communal areas for patients aged 11 – 18 years. The second floor accommodates bedrooms and communal areas for patients aged 18 – 25 year old. Until August 2015, patients of all ages mixed together and used the same facilities.

Cotswold Spa is located in Broadway, a village seven miles south east of Evesham, within the rural Cotswolds. The building is converted from large detached house and has gardens to the front and rear. A small car park is shared with a neighbouring care home. The unit is located within easy access of rural and shopping districts and public transport is available close by.

The Huntercombe Hospital - Cotswold Spa is registered for the following activities:

• assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983
• diagnostic and screening procedures
• treatment of disease, disorder or injury

The unit has 12 beds. There were 12 patients and no vacancies when we carried out our inspection. The unit was also providing day care for one patient. None of the patients were detained under the Mental Health Act. The Huntercombe Hospital - Cotswold Spa had a registered manager.

CQC last inspected The Huntercombe Hospital - Cotswold Spa in January 2014 and found they were meeting all of the essential standards.

Updated 15 June 2016

We rated The Huntercombe Hospital Cotswold Spa good because:

• Cotswold Spa was a comfortable, safe, modern and suitable facility for patients. There was a secure door entry system to prevent unwanted visitors. Staff managed risk well and Cotswold Spa had a good track record on safety. Staff undertook risk assessments for each patient. They had been trained in safeguarding children and adults, and regularly reported concerns to commissioners and the local authority. Staff knew how to report incidents, managers investigated them and shared lessons learnt with staff. The hospital had safe systems to manage medication. Parents told us the service felt safe.
• Staff provided quality treatment and care and routinely supported patients to address their physical healthcare needs as well as their emotional needs. Different professionals worked well together to assess and plan for the needs of patients. Staff used specialist tools to assess the severity of the patients’ eating disorder. Patients had up-to-date care plans, which focused on treatment, recovery and rehabilitation. To aid their recovery, patients had access to specialist therapies. These included psycho-social, mindfulness, psycho-education, relaxation, coping skills and pet therapy. Patients also had access to fun activities, which included museum and shopping trips as well as opportunities to take part in voluntary work.

• Staff ensured patients and parents were engaged with care plans. Patients were involved in developing their care plans and staff gave them copies. The service routinely sought patient, parent and staff feedback then often made changes to reflect the feedback.
• Managers routinely held supervision and annual performance reviews with staff. Staff had mandatory training, which managers monitored to ensure compliance. The company invested in, and was responsive to, the needs of staff. As a result, staff morale was good. Managers listened to staff and provided them with additional resources when they needed them.
• Most staff had a good understanding of Gillick competence, the Mental Capacity Act and the Mental Health Act. The hospital did not routinely accommodate detained patients but knew how to manage their needs if required.
• There was an ongoing recruitment programme to fill vacancies and managers had recruited a small bank of temporary staff to support the permanent team.
• The service had a good relationship with their commissioners and communicated effectively with them.
• The service was well led and managers had good systems in place so they could audit the quality of care. The senior management team were accessible to staff. The service was committed to becoming accredited with the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Quality Network for Inpatient Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
• Quality Network for Inpatient Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

However:

• There had been six occasions in the 12 months leading up to the inspection when there had been two patients on the unit with two night staff deployed to cover both patient areas. Staff had asked the older patient to leave their room and sleep in another room on the younger patients’ section of the building. One patient told us they did not like having to do this.
• Several parents and a patient told us the quality of food was not good when the chef was off duty and staff were often late serving meals in the evenings and at weekends.

Updated 15 June 2016