Archived: Queen Elizabeth Hospital

We found there was good recording in place to show staff obtained patients' consent and staff were aware of the importance of doing so. One patient told us, 'They always ask for my consent'I don't want an advocate.' Another patient told us they had been represented by a solicitor and an advocate at their tribunal hearings, and was quite pleased with this feeling that they had someone looking out for them.

Patients' had detailed treatment and care plans in place, supported by good baseline assessments and risk assessments. We found daily progress notes were very patient focused and recovery orientated. There was evidence of multi-disciplinary team work to emphasise and provide a holistic approach to health. We noted patients had access to different disciplines including psychiatry, psychology and occupational therapy.

Patients told us they felt safe on the ward. One patient informed us, 'I feel safe here, definitely.' Another patient said they were very ill and felt that the unit was the best place to be at the moment. The Trust had appropriate safeguarding procedures in place.

Patients had space to move around the wards, with different lounges available. We found the wards to be clean and well maintained. We did however find they were too hot and there was little ventilation available.

One patient told us, 'There is far too many staff around. There is definitely enough staff, they are always around.' Another two patients thought at times there were not enough staff and gave examples as on a weekend and at times when they wanted to go out into the courtyard.

The Trust had effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service they delivered.

As part of this inspection, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) liaised with other statutory bodies to identify an overall view of how the trust was performing and any areas of concern. Contact was made with Healthwatch England, NHS England and Monitor, and their views were taken into account in arriving at the judgements on compliance.

No specific areas of concern affecting this inspection were received from local Healthwatch England, the independent consumer champion for health and social care.

Monitor has the responsibility for ensuring foundation trusts, such as Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, are well led in terms of quality and finance. CQC received confirmation that apart from one recently received concern, Monitor had no other significant concerns regarding the trust. The issues raised by the specific concern were looked at during this inspection and are the subject of ongoing review by CQC.

NHS England has the responsibility for commissioning services and ensuring the provision of high quality services. The Cumbria, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear Area Team had the view that the trust is providing good care but had some questions about specific services and broader issues such as restraint policy. CQC was made aware that these, as well as quality and workforce issues, restraint and specific serious untoward incidents, will be discussed with the trust through a meeting of the Quality Review Group in September 2013. These issues are subject to ongoing monitoring by CQC and have been taken into account in the judgements made in this report.