The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a report following an inspection at Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust.
Inspectors visited the trust between 7 January to 5 February 2020 and looked at the trust's acute mental health wards and psychiatric intensive care unit for adults of working age, mental health crisis services and health-based place of safety, forensic inpatient low secure wards, community-based mental health services for adults of working age and wards for older people with mental health problems.
As a result of the inspection, the trust is rated as Inadequate overall and the Chief Inspector of Hospitals is recommending that the trust is placed into special measures. The trust is rated as Good for being caring, Requires Improvement for whether its services are effective and responsive and Inadequate for whether its services are safe and well-led.
The trust was last inspected between May and July 2018 when it was rated as Requires Improvement overall.
During the latest inspection CQC found there had been a decline in quality and safety and a number of areas identified as requiring improvement at the last inspection had not been addressed. In particular, we found areas of poor staffing, issues surrounding the reporting and handling of safeguarding matters and processes which were not operating effectively to identify issues.
However, inspectors found that staff were offering kind and compassionate care and leaders had a shared vision for better services, were open about the difficulties the trust faced and took immediate action with regard to a number of issues inspectors raised during CQC’s inspection.
CQC Deputy Chief Inspector and lead for mental health and community services, Dr Kevin Cleary, said:
“We found there had been a deterioration in the trust’s services since our last inspection, with many areas previously highlighted for improvement having not been fully addressed. We found continuing problems with poor culture in the trust where staff felt undervalued and some care was delivered in an unsafe manner and risked patient safety.
“However, staff were working well together and supporting each other, and developed effective relationships with other teams across to the trust and local healthcare services in the community to benefit patient care. Despite the challenges, leadership were passionate and determined to make improvements, acted with integrity and were open about the difficulties they faced.
“We continue to review the trust, through our regular engagement and data monitoring, and we will return to inspect and check on what progress has been made at a later date.
“The current pandemic continues to place additional pressure on services. It is important that the trust continues to engage with us and partner agencies to ensure support remains focused on improving services, so that patients can receive the best possible care and be kept safe from harm and the risk of harm.”
Full details of the inspection findings are published in the report on CQC’s website, available at: www.cqc.org.uk/provider/TAH
During the COVID-19 pandemic, CQC’s immediate focus is on supporting providers to keep people safe during a period of unprecedented pressure. We will continue to collect insight and intelligence about the quality of care from our existing data sources, providers, healthcare staff, stakeholders, and the public, and will work closely with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure additional support is in place where needed.
CQC is listening to what people are saying about services during this time to help us detect any changes in care. Although we are not conducting routine inspections during the COVID-19 pandemic, if we have evidence that people are at immediate risk of harm, we can and will take action to ensure that people are being kept safe.
People can give feedback to CQC via:
- Telephone - 03000 616161
- Give feedback via our website- www.cqc.org.uk/contact-us
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