CQC seeks improvements to services at 3 Beatrice Place

28 March 2011

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told a West London nursing home that it must make improvements to comply with all essential standards of quality and safety.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that 3 Beatrice Place, part of Central and North West London Mental Health Foundation Trust, is failing to meet three essential standards of quality and safety.

3 Beatrice Place is a 24-bedded (including one respite bed) Continuing Care NHS Home for older people with severe and enduring mental health needs. The unit is located near High Street Kensington.

The inspection team reviewed all the information held about this provider on all 16 essential outcomes and carried out visits on 19 and 21 January 2011. The review was carried out as part of our routine schedule of planned reviews. During the visit, we observed how patients were being cared for, talked to patients who use the service, talked to staff and checked the provider’s records.

CQC found that 3 Beatrice Place was not meeting three essential standards including:

• Consent to care and treatment: 3 Beatrice Place does not have procedures and practices in place to ensure that the assessment and recording of patients’ capacity to consent is in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to ensure that consent to treatment is valid.

There were other areas of concern with safeguarding and staffing.

Inspectors also reviewed a second location at 1A Beatrice Place – known as the Collingham Child and Family Centre – which offers assessment, management and treatment for children up to 13 years of age, who have severe and complex mental health problems.

The trust was compliant with all essential standards and CQC did not need to order any improvement or compliance actions as a result of this planned review.

For 3 Beatrice Place, CQC has asked Central and North West London Mental Health Foundation Trust to send us a report within 28 days, setting out the action they will take to meet the essential standards. We will check to make sure that the improvements have been made.

Colin Hough, Regional Director of CQC in London, said “We have told the trust where it needs to do more to comply with essential standards and we have asked them to tell us what action they will take to improve. We will check to make sure that the improvements have been made.”

“The law says there are the standards that everyone should be able to expect when they receive care. Providers have a duty to ensure they are compliant – or face the consequences.

Ends

For further information please contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9239 or out of hours on 07917 232 143.

Notes to editors