The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a report on mental health services for children and young people run by Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, following an inspection which took place in November.
CQC inspected six child and adolescent mental health wards (CAMHS) across two of the trust’s sites – the Ferndene inpatient centre, Prudhoe, and the Alnwood unit at St Nicholas Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne.
The inspection was prompted by concerns raised by a whistle blower about staffing issues, patient safety and the quality of care and treatment offered to patients.
Inspectors found that the wards were sufficiently staffed by professionals who managed risks to patient safety effectively.
However, instances of restrictive practices – including the use of belts and cuffs to restrain patients who were exhibiting behaviour which endangered themselves and others – had increased significantly since CQC’s previous inspection of the service, which took place in 2018.
Dr Kevin Cleary, CQC deputy chief inspector of hospitals and lead for mental health, said:
“Our inspection found that the trust’s child and adolescent mental health wards had enough doctors and nurses to provide safe and effective care.
“However, it was concerning to find that there has been a significant increase in the use of restraint of children, which is unacceptable. It is the responsibility of the leadership in the organisation to ensure that there is a significant improvement in this situation and they need to provide ongoing evidence that the use of restraint is improving.
“The trust should be able to reduce its use of restraint by making better use of debriefings following instances where restrictive practices have been used, to explore other approaches to supporting patients.
“Following the inspection, we reported our findings to the trust. We continue to monitor it closely to ensure patient’s receive safe and effective care and treatment.”
CQC has told the trust that it must make one improvement to comply with regulations:
- Mechanical restraint should only be used as a last resort. Following instances of restraint, there should be a clear debriefing process for staff and the person who has been restrained.
CQC listens to what people say about services to detect risks to patient safety and changes in care. This is particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, as all information that CQC receives is used to help it and the services that it regulates to direct their resources.
If there is evidence that people are at immediate risk of harm, CQC takes action to ensure that people are being kept safe. People can give feedback about their care to CQC via the details below.
- Give feedback via the website
- Telephone: 03000 616161
The full report is published on the CQC website here.
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