The Care Quality Commission has found improvements in the care provided by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, following an inspection in January and February.
Inspectors had returned to check on improvements made since their previous inspection. They also inspected Hannah House, a residential unit providing short breaks for children with complex care needs, in response to concerns raised about medicines management.
Inspectors found the trust provided services that were caring, effective, responsive and well-led, although further improvements were still needed in the safety of some services. Overall the trust’s rating has been amended to Good.
Read the full report for the trust and its services.
Professor Ted Baker, Chief Inspector of Hospitals at CQC said:
"At our previous inspection, we rated Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust Requires Improvement because we had some concerns about the safety and responsiveness of services.
“It is clear the trust has taken our feedback on board, and staff have worked to address some of the issues. As a result of these improvements we are amending the overall rating from Requires Improvement to Good.
“People told us about their positive experiences, and we saw staff ensuring they were involved in decisions about their care. We also saw services that were responsive to people’s individual needs and promoted their independence.
“Although the trust should be congratulated on their new rating, there are further improvements that they should make.
“We have told the trust they must improve services at Hannah House, particularly around safety and medicines management. We will return in due course to check on their progress.”
At Hannah House, the inspectors found that improvements were needed in the safety, effectiveness and responsiveness of services. Although staff were caring, inspectors found they were not being supported by their managers to provide the most effective or safe service possible. Staff did not always give medicines correctly. Some medications were being used past their expiry date.
Across the trust, inspectors saw several areas of outstanding practice including:
- Senior physiotherapists saw musculoskeletal and rehabilitation patients at the initial assessment.
- The trust introduced a project looking at identifying delays and blockages in the current system to reduce the length of stay for patients.
- The speech and language team started a choir which helped patients with speech and language skills and also provided social opportunities.
The report also identifies a number of areas where CQC has told the trust they must make improvements:
- The trust must ensure bank and agency staff working in child and adolescent mental health are trained in the use of restraint.
- Staff working in child and adolescent mental health must receive specialist training in working with young people, in line with quality standards for this type of service.
- All staff must be trained in the appropriate level of safeguarding children and adults for the service they work in.
ENDS
For further information please contact CQC Regional Engagement Officer Kerri James by email kerri.james@cqc.org.uk or by phone on 07464 92 9966.
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It is clear the trust has taken our feedback on board, and staff have worked to address some of the issues. As a result of these improvements we are amending the overall rating from Requires Improvement to Good.
Professor Ted Baker, Chief Inspector of Hospitals