The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has welcomed improvement at an east London hospital, but finds further work is needed to ensure patient safety and wellbeing.
CQC inspected Cygnet Hospital Beckton in May and June.
The service cares for women with complex mental health needs, learning disabilities and personality disorders – including those who have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act. It had 38 patients at the time of inspection.
The unannounced inspection was undertaken to determine whether the hospital had made progress following CQC’s previous inspection, in March, which led to it being rated inadequate and placed in special measures.
The latest inspection found Cygnet had addressed some of the issues CQC previously raised, but further improvement is needed to meet standards people should be able to expect.
Following the latest inspection, CQC rated the hospital requires improvement overall. It also rated it requires improvement for being safe and responsive to people’s needs, and good for being effective, caring and well-led.
The service remains in special measures to help it sustain its progress and ensure patient safety.
Debbie Ivanova, CQC deputy chief inspector for people with a learning disability and autistic people, said:
“Our previous inspection of Cygnet Hospital Beckton, in March, identified several areas where it needed to improve the care of its patients. These included treating people with dignity and respect, and ensuring their safety.
“We reported these issues to Cygnet’s leaders, so they knew what they needed to address.
“Our latest inspection, in May, found the hospital was still falling short of standards people have a right to expect, including regarding how its physical environment supported people’s needs. Issues were also identified with the frequency of which staff undertook patient observations.
“However, there was significant improvement compared to our previous inspection. Staff treated people with compassion and respect, and they put an exceptional focus on meeting people’s physical health needs.
“Staff had also reduced the hospital’s use of restraint through training and efforts to diffuse situations before people became a danger to themselves or others.
“The hospital remains in special measures to help it sustain its improvement. We continue to monitor it closely and will take further action to protect people if they are at immediate risk of harm.”
CQC’s latest inspection of Cygnet Hospital Beckton found one of the ward areas was institutional and unsupportive of people’s sensory needs and preferences. Although these areas were clean and well-maintained, they were austere and noisy.
Inspectors also found some staff observed patients at intervals that were too predictable. This enabled patients at risk of self-harming to anticipate when they would be observed, putting their safety at risk.
However, inspectors saw improvement at the service and some exceptional practice. Staff interacted with patients respectfully and the hospital’s excellent oversight of people’s physical needs supported them to enjoy better physical health.
Following the inspection, the hospital remains in special measures to ensure it continues its improvement. If enough improvement is not made, CQC will use its enforcement powers further to protect patients from the risk of harm and hold the service’s leaders to account.
Full details of the inspection are given in the report published on our website.
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