CQC rates community mental health services for children and young people at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust as Good

Published: 17 February 2017 Page last updated: 12 May 2022
Categories
Media

England’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals has rated the community mental health services for children and young people provided by Northumbria Healthcare NHSFT as Good following an inspection in September 2016.  

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, provides hospital, and community services, in Northumberland and North Tyneside and adult social care services in Northumberland only.

They also provide specialist community mental health services for children and young people aged 0-17 in North Tyneside which were inspected here. 

These services weren’t rated during their last inspection in November 2015, and the trust is rated as Outstanding overall.

The full report including ratings for the provider’s core services are available on our website.

The Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said:

“Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides community mental health services for children and young people across North Tyneside.""

“It is clear they are providing an effective service and I am pleased to be able to rate the quality of these services as Good."

“We saw care that was being delivered in a thoughtful and sensitive way, and was responsive to the needs of the young people using this service. This was reflected in the positive things that people using this service as well as their carers told us."

“The trust should be pleased with the Good rating for this service, but there are some areas where we have told them they can make changes to improve even further."

Some of the positive findings from the report included:

  • Initial assessments were thorough and included a full assessment of risk.
  • The service had clear criteria for referrals into the service with timescales for assessment for urgent, priority and routine referrals.
  • Staff delivered care in a thoughtful and sensitive way that was adaptive to the needs of the young person. Interactions were at an appropriate level for young people which focused on recovery and respected their needs.
  • Staff were passionate, enthusiastic and dedicated to their work.

Some areas where the trust should make improvements include:

  • The trust should ensure that the premises at Albion Road have appropriate security systems in place including secure entrance to staff areas and interview rooms.
  • The trust should ensure that there is adequate access to hand washing and hand sanitisers at Albion Road and Baliol Centre.
  • The trust should consider how to more accurately record the involvement of young people and parents in decisions about treatment and care.

Ends

For further information please contact CQC Regional Engagement Officer Kerri James by email kerri.james@cqc.org.uk or by phone on 07464 92 9966. 

Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here.

Please note: the press office is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters. For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.

About the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.

We make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and we encourage care services to improve.

We monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and we publish what we find to help people choose care.