Nightingale Hospital

Updated 6 August 2025

Date of assessment: 28 and 29 April 2025. 

Nightingale Hospital is an independent hospital that provides mental health care and treatment for people who may or may not be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. The hospital offers treatment for general psychiatry, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and addiction for adults as both inpatients and outpatients. The service provides 4 acute wards for adults of working age, an obsessive compulsive disorder ward, a substance misuse and detoxification ward, and a specialist eating disorder service for adults.

We carried out a comprehensive assessment of all mental health acute wards for adults of working age which we rated as good. The rating from acute wards for adults of working age has been combined with ratings of the other services from the last inspections. See our previous reports to get a full picture of all other services at Nightingale Hospital. The overall rating of  Nightingale Hospital remains good. 

In our assessment of acute wards for adults of working age  we found improvements to ligature risk management, care planning and risk management, medicines management, physical health observations, discharge planning and governance arrangements. At this assessment we found improvements in all of these areas. Our rating of  acute wards for adults of working age improved. We rated the service as good. 

Updated 21 May 2025

We carried out a comprehensive assessment of all mental health wards for adults of working age delivered by Nightingale Hospital. We undertook a site visit on 28 and 29 April 2024 and carried out further offsite activities. Our last interview was on 20 May 2025. We carried out this assessment to check on compliance with requirements from the previous inspection in June 2022.

Nightingale Hospital is an independent hospital that provides mental health care and treatment for people who may or may not be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. The hospital offers treatment for general psychiatry, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and addiction for adults as both inpatients and outpatients. The service provides 3 acute wards for adults of working age, an obsessive-compulsive disorder ward, a substance misuse and detoxification ward, and a specialist eating disorder service for adults.

At the previous inspection in June 2022 the acute wards were rated requires improvement in all key questions except caring which was rated good, leading to an overall rating of requires improvement. We required the provider to make improvements to ligature risk management, care planning and risk management, medicines management, physical health observations, discharge planning and governance arrangements.

At this assessment we found improvements in all of these areas. Our rating of this service improved. We rated the service as good. The service is no longer in breach of regulations.

Patients told us they felt safe. The ward environments were safe and clean. The wards had enough nurses and doctors. Staff assessed and managed risk well. They minimised the use of restrictive practices, managed medicines safely and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.

Staff developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. They provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the patients and in line with national guidance about best practice. Staff engaged in clinical audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.

The multidisciplinary team included or had access to a range of specialists required to meet the needs of patients. Managers ensured that these staff received training, supervision and appraisal. The staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team and with those outside the service who would have a role in providing aftercare.

Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and understood the individual needs of patients. They actively involved patients and families and carers in care decisions.

Staff said they felt respected, supported and valued. They said they could raise any concerns without fear and reported that their concerns were taken seriously. Staff reported they were positive and proud to work for the provider, they described the leadership team as having a focus on staff well-being and ensured a culture promoting good practice, good quality, and safe care and treatment.

Governance processes operated effectively, and performance and risk were managed well.

Updated 21 August 2024

Nightingale Hospital is an independent hospital that provides mental health care and treatment for people who may or may not be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. The hospital offers general psychiatry, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and addiction treatment for adults as both inpatients and outpatients. The service provides 3 acute wards for adults of working age, an obsessive compulsive disorder ward, a substance misuse and detoxification ward, and a specialist eating disorder service for adults.

The eating disorder ward is located in a separate 9-bedded 3-storey building. Bendall Mews eating disorder unit provides eating disorder services for individuals aged 18 and above. Treatment can be accessed as part of an outpatient, day patient or inpatient programme.

We carried out our on-site assessment of the service on 17 April and 13 June 2024 to check on compliance with requirements from the previous inspection in June 2022 and in response to feedback about the service received by CQC. At the previous inspection the eating disorder service was rated Requires Improvement in all key questions except Responsive which was rated Good, leading to an overall rating of Requires Improvement.

Overall, we found significant improvements at the service. Patients felt safe in the service, and most relatives of people using the service were positive about staff care and treatment. The environment was clean, and well maintained. Patients said that staff were readily available and generally supported them with kindness. However, they raised concerns about the number and skills of bank or agency staff that worked with them. The ward manager was working to address these concerns. Patients were involved in producing their care plans and completed their own daily risk assessments alongside staff members. There had been an improvement in the governance systems and processes within the hospital following an unsettled period on the ward.

Updated 10 October 2022

The substance misuse service a 28-day treatment programme or a detoxification programme. The therapy programme followed the 12 step programme, a widely used and recognised psychosocial treatment programme for people with addictions.

Updated 13 May 2019

The hospital had taken action to address areas highlighted as a concern in the last inspection in January 2018. This included taking steps to address environmental risks, with significant work undertaken to reduce ligature risk areas on each ward, personal alarms provided to staff, improved infection control protocols, and addressing actions from the hospital’s fire safety assessment.

The provider put in place systems to ensure that staff were made aware of lessons learned from incidents, and staff had regular supervision and appraisals.

Staff had received training in interventions to protect patients from harm, including the provision and use of naloxone, and action to take in the event of an alcohol withdrawal seizure. Staff understood how to use the validated tools for patients undergoing detoxification from prescribed drugs and alcohol. There were also improved protocols for ensuring that patients undergoing detoxification were protected from harm, including better physical health monitoring.

Improvements were made to the prescription, storage and administration of medicines.

There was an improvement in recording patients’ involvement in the development of their care plans.

However:

Staff did not have access to the results of recent audits on the wards, and there were no regular checks of mattresses and soft furnishings on the wards to ensure good standards of infection prevention and control.

Nursing competencies for the addiction unit staff were not specific to the care of patients with substance misuse issues.

Staff meetings were not always held on a regular basis or include standard agenda items related to quality and safety. Staff were not always able to access a clear record of the minutes of the last meeting.