CQC lifts registration condition on Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
21 July 2010
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said today (Wednesday) that Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has made improvements to ensure that the needs of people who use its services are properly assessed and that their care plans are kept up-to-date.
CQC will now lift one of two conditions it had imposed on the trust on 1 April, when it introduced a tough new registration system for the NHS. Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust was one of 22 trusts judged not to be meeting essential standards of quality and safety and was registered on the condition that it improved.
CQC required the trust to take action by 1 July to ensure that:
- all people who use services have up to date care plans in place and all relevant staff employed by the trust have received training in the assessment of risk and recording of the assessment of risk
The trust provided evidence that it had met this condition in advance of the deadline and applied for it to be removed. To check whether the necessary improvements had been made, inspectors visited the trust on 5 May, interviewing patients and staff and reviewing documentation at six units.
Inspectors found that the trust has taken action to ensure that it complies with this condition.
- The trust has put in place monthly record-keeping audits to check on care plans and risk assessments.
- A designated nurse will primarily be responsible for auditing the quality of the Care Plan Approach and risk assessments.
- An audit group has been set up to carry out regular audits of inpatient services including record-keeping in relation to referrals, assessments and care plans.
- All relevant staff have received their three-yearly Care Plan Approach and risk training. Staff will also receive 10 clinical supervision sessions and an annual appraisal.
CQC had also imposed a second condition relating to consent to care and treatment, requiring compliance by 1 July. CQC inspectors will assess whether the trust has met this condition in the near future.
Roxy Boyce, regional director for the Care Quality Commission in the South East, said: “Many thousands of vulnerable people rely on the services provided by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust – and each of them is entitled to expect individual care and attention appropriate to their needs.
“Every person must have an up-to-date care plan, which is reassessed on a regular basis, particularly if their needs or behaviours change.
“It was clear to our inspection team that a considerable amount of work had gone into improving the assessment and recording of patients’ care and needs. There are now better systems in place to ensure patients will have an up-do-date care plan and staff are better equipped to deal with patients’ needs.
“The trust has made a lot of improvement in a short time. We will be looking for a continuation of that work to ensure that every service user has a care plan and is involved in meetings to discuss their plan. These things are very important to people who use services, and we will be requiring the trust to complete this work and to notify us in writing when this has been done.”
The Care Quality Commission will continue to monitor improvement through the new registration process, returning to the trust if necessary, to check compliance with the essential standards.
-ends-
For further information please contact Nick Kerswell, on 07919 540326.
Or contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9401 (07917 232 143 out of hours).
Notes to editors:
On 1 April Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust was registered on two conditions:
Regulation 9 - Care and welfare of people who use services:
The registered person must ensure that all the people who use services have up to date care plans in place by 1 July 2010.
The registered person must ensure that all relevant staff employed by the Trust have received training in the assessment of risk and recording of the assessment of risk by 1 July 2010.
Regulation 18 - Consent to care and treatment:
The registered person must ensure that, by 1 July 2010, all the people detained under the Mental Health Act who use services have their discussions about consent to treatment, the assessment of their capacity to consent and the outcome of their consent to treatment procedure under Section 58 Mental Health Act 1983 documented in accordance with the Act and the Code of Practice.
CQC will report on the final condition relating to regulation 18 - Consent to care and treatment, later this year.
About the Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of all health and adult social care in England. We inspect all health and adult social care services in England, whether they are provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies or voluntary organisations. We also seek to protect the interests of people whose rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act. We make sure that essential common standards of quality are met everywhere care is provided, from hospitals to private care homes, and we work towards their improvement. We promote the rights and interests of people who use services and we have a wide range of enforcement powers to take action on their behalf if services are unacceptably poor.
Our work brings together (for the first time) independent regulation of health, mental health and adult social care. Before 1 April 2009, this work was carried out by the Healthcare Commission, the Mental Health Act Commission and the Commission for Social Care Inspection.
Our aim is to make sure that better care is provided for everyone, whether it is in hospital, in care homes, in people’s own homes, or anywhere else that care is provided.
Registration: The Health and Social Care Act 2008 introduced a new, single registration system that applies to both health and adult social care. The new system will make sure that people can expect services to meet new essential standards of quality and safety that respect their dignity and protect their rights. The new system is focused on outcomes, rather than systems and processes, and places the views and experiences of people who use services at its centre.
Since 1 April 2010, all NHS care providers are required by law to be registered with CQC and must show that they are meeting the essential standards. All adult social care and independent healthcare providers must be registered under the 2008 Act (which replaces the Care Standards Act 2000) from 1 October this year. Registration isn’t just about initial application for registration. We will continuously monitor compliance with the essential standards as part of a new, more dynamic, responsive and robust system of regulation.
