The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a report following an unannounced focused inspection of the child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) wards at The Priory Ticehurst House.
The Priory Ticehurst House is an independent hospital in Ticehurst, East Sussex, which provides inpatient mental health treatment for adults and young people. In December, inspectors went in to assess two of the CAMHS wards, Upper Court and Keystone, after receiving information of concern from young people and parents about whether the service was safe.
The service is currently rated Good overall, and was not re-rated following this latest inspection, as there was insufficient evidence to do so.
The service was previously inspected in September and December 2019. Following the September inspection, CQC issued a warning notice, as the provider did not have effective governance systems in place to ensure the environment was safe, that risks were assessed and managed appropriately and that incidents were investigated, and improvements made.
In December 2019, inspectors found that the provider had made some improvements to its governance systems relating to risk and incidents and had met the requirements of the warning notice, which was then lifted. However, there was more to do to fully embed these processes, and CQC has been monitoring the service ever since.
Karen Bennet-Wilson, CQC’s head of hospital inspection for mental health, said:
“I am pleased to report that our latest inspection of The Priory Ticehurst House revealed that the provider had reviewed all the environmental risk assessments and had taken appropriate action to reduce, mitigate or remove risks. Upper Court has been refurbished and the ward environments are now safe.
“Staff also assessed and managed risks to young people and followed best practice in anticipating, de-escalating and managing challenging behaviour. Restraint and seclusion were only used when attempts to de-escalate a situation had failed.
“Staff also recognised and reported patient safety incidents appropriately and lessons learned were shared with the wider service. When things went wrong, staff apologised and gave young people honest information and suitable support.”
Inspectors also found:
- Although the ward manager was leaving, deputy managers with significant experience of working in CAMHS services had been appointed for both wards. Each ward also had a full-time consultant and locum speciality doctor.
- The provider had reduced the number of young people on each ward in order to deliver safe care
- There was a comprehensive activity programme in place covering evenings and weekends, so young people were kept engaged in meaningful activity.
However, staff did not always provide young people with enough information about the use of CCTV in their bedrooms and they were not seeking consent appropriately. If young people did not agree to have CCTV activated in their bedroom, the clinician in charge would overrule this, saying it was not in the interests of safety. This decision making was not documented, as young people were not involved.
CQC has told the provider that it must ensure there is effective governance regarding the use of CCTV in young people’s bedrooms and that Priory policies are adhered to. The provider must also ensure that young people are involved in the decision making regarding the use of CCTV in their bedrooms. Accurate documentation must be kept, and decisions should be reviewed regularly.
Full details of the inspection are given in the report published online here.
Ends
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Read the findings published online here.