The specialist eating disorders service at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust has been rated good by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection in March.
This is an improvement on the previous rating for the service, which was requires improvement.
CQC carried out a focused inspection of the eating disorders service, which cares for young people and adults, to assess whether improvements had been made after its previous inspection identified issues needing addressing.
The latest inspection found a much better quality of care was being provided to people.
As well as being rated good overall, the service also improved its ratings from requires improvement to good for being safe, effective, responsive to people’s needs and well-led. The service remains good for being caring.
The latest inspection did not change the overall ratings for South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust – it also remains good overall.
Jane Ray, CCQ’s head of inspection for hospitals said:
“There has been really good progress at this service, which is particularly encouraging considering the added pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. The consistent improvement in all areas has led to better experiences and outcomes for people receiving care here.
“We found a real improvement in staff morale and in their interactions with people, which were compassionate and respectful, particularly at mealtimes.
“Staff had the appropriate training and experience of working with people who had an eating disorder, which made a positive difference to the levels of care provided.
“We also found people using the service were involved in decisions about their care and their individual needs were at the centre of everything that staff did.
“We have made suggestions for further areas of improvement, but these are strong foundations on which the service can build.”
The inspection found:
- Staff had training in key skills, including therapeutic eating, and understood how to keep patients safe and protect them from abuse.
- Wards were visibly clean and well-maintained, and infection risks were well-managed.
- Safety incidents were well-managed, and lessons were learned from them to improve the service.
- Risk assessments were carried out for all patients to keep them safe.
- Staff provided effective care and treatment to people, including evidence-based treatment in line with national guidance.
- Emotional support was offered to patients and their families.
- Medicines were safely administered and recorded. Any medicines required in an emergency could be easily accessed by staff.
- Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients and focused on their individual needs.
- Staff supported people to make decisions about their care and provided information to help them live healthier lives.
- Staff treated patients with compassion, and they respected their privacy and dignity.
- Leaders ran the service well.
- Staff felt respected, supported and valued.
- Leaders, managers and staff were all committed to continually improving the service.
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