Cygnet Aspen House

Updated 10 August 2026

We inspected Cygnet Aspen House from Tuesday 28 April 2026 to Tuesday 12 May 2026.

The service was previously rated Good following the last report published on 26 July 2022.

Cygnet Aspen House was registered by CQC on 13 November 2015, as a service provided by Cygnet Behavioural Health Limited to deliver the regulated activities: Treatment for Disease, Disorder and Injury and Assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. The service had an controlled drugs accountable officer. The previous registered manager deregistered in April 2026, and the new manager had submitted their registered manager application at the time of our inspection.

At this inspection we assessed 1 assessment service group: Long stay or rehabilitation mental health wards for working age adults.

We rated the service as Good. We found one breach of regulation in relation to good governance.

Updated 8 December 2025

Date of inspection: Between 28 April 2026 and 12 May 2026.

Cygnet Behavioural Health Limited provides long stay or rehabilitation mental health wards for working age adults at Cygnet Aspen House. At the time of the inspection, the service provided treatment and care for women with severe and enduring mental illness. Patients could be detained under the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act or informal patients. The service had 20 beds. At the time of our inspection there were 14 patients admitted to the ward.

We rated the service as Good. We found 1 breach of the regulations in relation to good governance.

Patients were safe and protected from avoidable harm and safety incidents were managed well. Staff worked well together as a team to benefit patients and the hospital worked well with other agencies. Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness and sought their feedback on the care provided. However, governance systems were not always effective in identifying or addressing areas for improvement, such as recommendations from the last inspection, security checks and 1 to 1 sessions were not consistently offered in line with the providers policy.

Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act Compliance Summary

Most staff completed mandatory training in the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding (DoLS), Mental Health Act, the Code of Practice and the guiding principles.

The staff we spoke with had a good understanding of mental capacity and were confident about how to assess it. Staff told us they took all practical steps to enable patients to make their own decisions and provided good examples regarding raising safeguarding concerns.

Patients had easy access to information about independent mental health advocacy.

We reviewed 6 care records and found evidence that people's needs were met in line with current guidance and by undertaking capacity assessments and best interest decisions when appropriate. All detained patients were made aware of their rights under the Mental Health Act and patient restrictions were regularly reviewed to maximise their independence.

Multi-disciplinary team discussions involved the patient, and patient's family where appropriate, in decision making and planning care and treatment. The hospital had good governance, including compliance audits, in place to ensure staff provided evidence-based care and treatment.