The Care Quality Commission has told West London Mental Health NHS Trust that it must make significant improvements in the care of patients at Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire.
CQC has issued a Warning Notice requiring the trust to improve care at the high security psychiatric hospital.
Inspectors visited Broadmoor in November 2016 to check the trust’s progress in meeting requirements that had been identified on a previous inspection. On the latest inspection, CQC found that the trust still did not have enough suitably qualified staff deployed to meet the needs of patients.
Dr Paul Lelliott, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals and lead for mental health said:
“We have told West London Mental Health NHS Trust that it must improve the quality of care that it provides to patients at Broadmoor Hospital.
“Specifically, our inspection team found that there were 68 vacancies for qualified nurses, a vacancy rate of 30%, and that this was affecting the care and treatment of patients.
“We found that too often, staff shortages led to the cancellation of social and therapeutic activities; including for patients who had been confined to their rooms all night. It also meant that some patients in long-term segregation did not always have the opportunities to associate with other patients that had been agreed in their care plans”
The trust has been required to make significant improvements by June 2017. CQC will publish a full report of the inspection in due course.
Ends
For media enquiries, contact Ray Cooling, Regional Engagement Manager (London), on 020 7448 9136 or call the press office on 020 7448 9401 during office hours. Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here. (Please note: the duty press officer is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters). For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.