South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust (SWLSTG) has been rated Good overall by the Care Quality Commission. Previously it was also rated Good.
The trust was rated Good in all major areas – for being: safe, effective; responsive; caring and well-led, following the inspection in September and October 2019.
CQC carried out comprehensive inspections of four core and specialist services: Wards for older people with mental health problems; Forensic inpatient/secure wards; Mental health crisis services and health-based places of safety and Specialist eating disorder services.
In addition, inspectors carried out a focused inspection of Acute wards for adults of working age and the psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU). We inspected five of the trust’s eight acute wards and the psychiatric intensive care unit. We looked at the key questions of safe and effective only.
Inspectors did find some areas of Outstanding practice. The trust had set up an expert panel to look at the experience of black, Asian and minority ethnic patients who were over-represented in in mental health services, particularly inpatients, and less likely to use talking therapies.
The pharmacy team had written a successful business case for an improvement project on medicines optimisation in care homes for people living with learning disabilities. The project had received praise from GPs and other stakeholders across the five boroughs the trust serves and delivered savings of more than £60,000 for the trust.
Staff provided a very high standard of physical health care and treatment to patients. Records of physical health assessments and treatment were detailed. Staff proactively obtained and followed up physical health investigations and results to support the delivery of effective care. Doctors worked very well with specialists from other health care organisations to provide the best possible care to patients.
The trust had introduced the ‘safety in motion’ programme on the acute wards and PICU. The programme involved the introduction of eight evidence-based interventions aimed at reducing violence and aggression on the wards.
However, there were areas where the trust could do better. The trust must improve the care provided in specialist eating disorder services, including:
- Ensuring that in the eating disorder service information about patients' physical health care is recorded accurately.
- Ensuring that all staff in the eating disorder service know where potential ligature points are throughout the ward and how the risks are mitigated.
- Ensuring they review the use of overly restrictive blanket restrictions on Wisteria Ward.
- Ensuring that staff working with children and young people on Wisteria Ward understand the issues of competence and consent to treatment in this age group.
- Ensuring that systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality of service in Wisteria Ward are effective.
- Ensure that food on Wisteria Ward is of good quality and suitable for young people with an eating disorder.
Kevin Cleary, Deputy Chief Inspector Hospitals, Mental Health and Community Services, said: “I am pleased that South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust has kept up the standards it achieved at CQC’s last inspection and was again rated Good overall.
“I was impressed with the trust’s management. The board and senior leadership team had set a clear strategy and staff were aware of what it was. The trust had a values-based culture, which was positive and open.
“Work on equality and diversity had progressed since the last inspection. There had been an increase in the number of staff network groups. Plans to improve workforce race equality had been reviewed and re-energised.”
You can read the report in full when it is published on CQC’s website at: www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RQY
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