The Priory Hospital Hemel Hempstead

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Staff completed comprehensive mental health and physical health assessments. The team Included a full range of specialists who developed care plans and managed care and treatment with patients to meet their individual needs. Staff supported patients so they could maximise their independence, choice and control.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service maximised the effectiveness of people's care and treatment by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

During the assessment we reviewed 6 care records. Staff completed a comprehensive mental health assessment of the patient in a timely manner at, or soon after, admission.

Staff developed care plans that met the needs identified during assessment. We reviewed 6 care plans that were personalised, holistic and recovery oriented. The care management plans included input from different professionals such as General Practitioners (GPs), Occupational health, Dieticians, Psychologists and Speech and Language therapists to meet individual needs.

We saw evidence of Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act compliance within the patient care and management records.

There was evidence of patient involvement in care planning. Care records showed a collaborative approach between staff and patients, including empowerment and an individualistic approach to care. Staff offered patients a copy of their care plan and were encouraged to sign them.

There was limited evidence of carers involvement in care planning from the records. However, carers we spoke with told us they were involved, and not all patients had agreed to carer involvement or had families/carers.

Staff assessed patients' physical health needs in a timely manner after admission. Patients' physical health was regularly monitored and checked. We saw examples of falls assessments and diet management plans within patient records. However, although recorded in care plans, we found 2 examples in records where staff had missed recording weekly monitoring information (NEWS) in the physical health records.

The service planned and delivered people's care and treatment with them, including what is important and matters to them and in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

Staff provided a range of care and treatment interventions suitable for the patient group. The interventions were those recommended by, and were delivered in line with, guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

The service provided a range of activities and opportunities to help patients acquire living skills. These included for example, cooking and meal preparation, accessing the local community such as with visits to the cinema, museums, sports and day trips.

Psychologists supported patients with skills to help them to manage difficult emotions, improve interpersonal relationships, and cope with distress.

Staff ensured that patients had good access to physical healthcare, including access to specialists when needed. There was a lead physical health nurse employed by the service and a General Practitioner visited weekly.

Staff assessed and met patients' needs for food and drink and for specialist nutrition and hydration, if required. We saw examples of this in care records.

Staff participated in clinical audit. There was an audit programme in place. Topics included for example, care planning and risk assessment; observation and engagement; physical health and restrictive practice.

The team included or had access to the full range of specialists required to meet the needs of patients in the service including doctors and nurses, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, social workers, pharmacists, dieticians and support workers.

Staff were experienced and qualified and had the right skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the patient group.

Managers provided new staff with appropriate induction including agency staff.

Managers provided staff with supervision (meetings to discuss case management, to reflect on and learn from practice, and for personal support and professional development) and appraisal of their work performance.

The percentage of staff that received regular supervision was 100% for Dove ward and 94% for Robin ward.

The percentage of staff that had had an appraisal in the last 12 months was 100% across both wards.

Managers ensured that staff received the necessary specialist training for their roles. Specialist training examples included Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) feeding tubes, choking risks, phlebotomy and intermediate life support.

Managers identified the learning needs of staff and staff told us there were opportunities for nurse apprenticeships. However, some staff told us they would like more opportunities for professional development.

Managers ensured that staff had access to regular team meetings.

Staff worked effectively across teams and services to support people, by sharing their assessment of needs when they moved between different services.

Staff held regular and effective multidisciplinary team meetings.

The teams had effective working relationships, including good handovers and regular team meetings. Staff shared information about patients at effective handover meetings within the team (for example, shift to shift).

Staff had effective working relationships with teams outside the organisation including for example, local authority social services and GPs.

The service supported people to manage their health and wellbeing so they could maximise their independence, choice and control, live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

Patients were offered smoking cessation; healthy food choices and staff encouraged people to take leave and go on walks. We saw examples in care records where patients were supported with issues relating to substance misuse.

Ward activities helped promote a healthy lifestyle for patients, for example walking groups, sports activities and cooking healthy meals.

We did not look at Monitoring and improving outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when they delivered person-centred care and treatment.

Staff took all practical steps to enable patients to make their own decisions. There was evidence within care records that staff complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. For patients who might have impaired mental capacity, staff assessed and recorded capacity to consent appropriately. They did this on a decision-specific basis with regard to significant decisions.

Advanced decisions were included in care planning, when required. The service could provide palliative, end of life care if the patient chose to stay in the hospital.