Cygnet Hospital Wolverhampton

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

This means we looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated Good.

Good: This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

Good: Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness. They respected patients’ privacy and dignity. They understood the individual needs of patients and supported patients to understand and manage their care, treatment or condition. Staff involved patients in care planning and risk assessment and actively sought their feedback on the quality of care provided. Staff informed and involved families and carers appropriately.

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.

We always treat people with kindness, empathy and compassion and we respect their privacy and dignity. We treat colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

We observed positive interactions between staff and patients. Staff were discreet, respectful and responsive, providing patients with help, emotional support and advice at the time they needed it. Feedback from patients across the hospital was mainly positive. One patient told us staff could not do enough for them and a number of patients told us this was better than previous hospitals they had been. Nearly all the carers we spoke to told us the hospital was better than others and patients seemed much happier here.

Staff supported patients to understand and manage their care, treatment or condition. A patient told us how staff had supported them to see an optician and get new glasses something they had needed for some time.

Staff understood the individual needs of patients, including their personal, cultural, social and religious needs. One patient told us how staff had supported them to access a local church and we saw staff supporting a patient to use the multi faith room.

All patients told us that staff were respectful of their privacy and always knocked on their door. Staff maintained the confidentiality of information about patients and we observed that all paperwork was securely filed away or stored electronically.

Staff said they could raise concerns about disrespectful, discriminatory or abusive behaviour or attitudes towards patients without fear of the consequences. Managers told us how staff would come to them with concerns or if they felt that they were being treated differently due to their protected characteristics.

We treat as individuals and make sure their care, support and treatment meets their needs and preferences, taking account of their strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff and patient interactions we witnessed demonstrated that staff understood and respected the individual needs of each patient. Multidisciplinary patient reviews we observed were person centred and holistic.

The service made adjustments for disabled patients and met patients’ specific communication needs. We were told how an occupational therapy assessment would be completed for patients who needed additional support. One example outlined how required adaptions including a shower chair, wheelchair and a frame were provided to a patient who had previously had a stroke. In addition to this they referred to a local stroke unit for guidance and further review.

We saw evidence that patients had access to advocates and other additional communication resources to support them in communicating their wishes. Information provided was in a form accessible to the particular patient group and there was further work being completed around easy read formats for information leaflets.

Staff ensured that patients could obtain information on treatments, local services, patients’ rights, and how to complain. Information was displayed on the walls of the wards, such as general advocacy details and ward activities.

Patients had a choice of food to meet the dietary requirements of religious and ethnic groups and to account for allergies and intolerances. One patient told us that staff would offer alternatives if there was nothing that they would want that day.

All patients had access to a multi faith room and links had been made with local churches and mosques to support patients who wanted to attend services based on their preference.

We promote people’s independence, so they know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment. and wellbeing.

Staff told us they supported patients to have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Patients reported being involved in their care through attendance at meetings and were able to share their views. Care plans were written in the patient’s voice although it was not always clearly evidenced within some care plans and risk assessments where the patient had been involved.

Patients and carers told us that they had been involved in care planning. One carer explained their relative had been listened to in relation to their preference around medication and this had been well managed by the staff involved with a good outcome for the patient.

Staff made sure patients could access information on their rights and how to complain. Information about the Mental Health Act and making complaints was displayed on a notice board. Patients could access their own mobile phone and were able to make calls in private. Staff told us patients could access the hospital phone when required in one of the meeting rooms on the ward.

Staff supported patients to maintain relationships and networks that were important to them. The service had visiting rooms off the ward, which could be booked for visits.

We listen to and understand people’s needs, views and wishes. We respond to these in that moment and will act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff were made aware of and dealt with any specific risk issues through the communication meeting and handovers. There was evidence in care plans of risk assessments been completed in relation to physical health issues and clear actions set out in relation to their management.

Patients told us that they felt listened to and staff had been responsive to their needs. They were able to give examples of staff listening to them, identifying their needs and finding them additional support from other professionals such as a dietician and optician.

All staff we spoke to were passionate and committed to supporting patients to receive quality care. We observed staff responding to immediate needs of a patient who was distressed using de-escalation to reduce the need for physical interventions. Staff told us they were developing in confidence as a team when managing heightened patient behaviours.

We care about and promote the wellbeing of our staff, and we support and enable them to always deliver person centred care.

Most of the staff we spoke to told us they felt respected and supported as leaders valued feedback from all staff and it did not feel hierarchical. Staff said they worked well together and were proud of the way they had developed the service and gave good, compassionate care to patients.

Staff had access to support for their own physical and emotional health needs through an external health service. Staff were also encouraged to take part in reflective practice and the psychologist also held staff sessions to offer additional support.

Staff took part in both managerial and clinical supervision with 97% of staff having received clinical supervision and 95% managerial supervision in the month prior to our visit.

Staff told us they had conversations about career development and how it could be supported. Some of the leaders within the service had worked their way up through the company and others explained the opportunities were there to develop and progress if they wanted to. For example, a support worker who had worked within Cygnet for 5 years had recently completed their nurse training and had joined Cygnet Wolverhampton successfully completing their preceptorship.