Cygnet Elowen Hospital

Updated 17 April 2026

Date of assessment: 24 March 2026.

Cygnet Elowen Hospital is a new hospital for adults located in Derbyshire. The hospital is registered to support individuals with disordered eating and those with complex personality disorders with disordered eating. There are two wards at Cygnet Elowen Hospital. Nova Ward is an eating disorder service registered to support those with low body mass index (BMI). Alina Ward is a personality disorder service for women with a dual diagnosis of co-morbid disordered eating.

Cygnet Elowen Hospital registered with CQC on 24 July 2025 to deliver the regulated activities: Assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

This assessment assessed Alina ward provided support for women with personality disorder service with co-morbid disordered eating in response to concerns we received about the service. We rated this service requires improvement. The rating from this assessment has been combined with ratings of the other service from the last inspection. See our previous reports to get a full picture of all other services at Cygnet Elowen Hospital. The overall rating of Cygnet Elowen Hospital has remained requires improvement.

Updated 7 January 2026

This assessment of Alina Ward took place on 24 March 2026. The ward provided support for women with personality disorder service with co-morbid disordered eating in response to concerns we received about the service. We rated this service requires improvement. The rating from this assessment has been combined with ratings of the other service from the last inspection. See our previous reports to get a full picture of all other services at Cygnet Elowen Hospital. The overall rating of Cygnet Elowen Hospital has remained requires improvement.

In our assessment of Alina ward, we found that the service requires improvement overall. We identified that gaps in staffing, specialist disordered eating expertise, and governance processes were present for a number of months following the service opening. Although these issues had been addressed by the time of inspection, their presence during the early operational period had a continued impact on patients’ care journeys and contributed to shortfalls in the effectiveness and consistency of care delivered. Leaders had begun addressing these issues through recruitment, training and strengthened governance. Improvements were evident at the time of inspection, but these changes were still relatively recent and not yet fully embedded, meaning further work was needed to ensure sustained, proactive improvement. However, staff treated patients with kindness, involved them in care, and delivered person centred support.

Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act Compliance Summary

Staff upheld patients’ rights under the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA). They completed detention paperwork accurately, ensured informal patients were not subject to unnecessary restrictions, and explained patients’ rights clearly. Staff conducted effective audits to monitor MHA compliance.

Shortly before our inspection, leaders completed a full audit of MHA compliance and identified that one patient had been unlawfully detained due to administrative errors in paperwork. The provider addressed this promptly and applied duty of candour. Following the previous error in detention paperwork, the service employed a Mental Health Act Administrator to ensure MHA compliance. The administrator was due to start their role at the service in May 2026. In the meantime, oversight of MHA administration increased, with support from the hospital manager and MHA administrators from other Cygnet hospitals.

Staff assessed and recorded capacity appropriately and documented best interest decisions that reflected patients’ wishes, culture, and personal history.

All staff completed MHA training. Policies and procedures reflected current guidance, and patients accessed independent advocacy. Leaders implemented improvements in administration, oversight, and compliance following previous findings and feedback, and these improvements were embedded in practice at the time of our inspection.

Updated 11 February 2026

Cygnet Elowen Hospital is a new hospital for adults located in Derbyshire. The hospital is registered to support individuals with eating disorders and those with complex personality disorders with disordered eating. There are two wards at Cygnet Elowen Hospital. Nova Ward is an eating disorder service registered to support those with low body mass index (BMI). Alina Ward is a personality disorder service for women with a dual diagnosis of co-morbid disordered eating.

Cygnet Elowen Hospital registered with CQC on 24 July 2025 to deliver the regulated activities: Assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA) and Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

We assessed the eating disorder unit, Nova Ward as part of the assessment and we assessed all 33 quality statements on 10 February 2026. We undertook the assessment in response to the concerns we received about safe care and treatment at the service.

We rated the service as requires improvement. We found 2 breaches in regulations in relation to consent and good governance. We served Warning Notices in response to the concerns found in this assessment.

Shortfalls in governance, oversight, and specialist eating disorder expertise meant that care was not consistently safe. Some audits and checks were ineffective, and at times patients were subjected to restrictive practices that were not clearly explained. However, staff generally followed procedures and responded to immediate risks appropriately, including engaging with emergency services when necessary. Care was not always fully evidence-based or coordinated. Gaps in training and multidisciplinary team availability limited effectiveness. Patients and relatives did not always feel that staff treated them with kindness, compassion, or dignity, and feedback was not consistently addressed in a timely or personal way. Patients’ individual preferences and choices were not always respected, particularly around leaving the ward, activities, and decision-making. Complaints were sometimes handled in a delayed or overly formal manner. Leadership changes had begun to address longstanding issues, but some gaps in governance, oversight, and accountability remained. Not all staff felt fully empowered to challenge or raise concerns. Leaders were increasingly visible, supportive, and working to embed a culture of learning and improvement, and staff generally understood their roles and responsibilities. Despite this, staff used recognised outcome measures, monitored patients’ health, and collaborated with external professionals to support continuity of care.

Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act Compliance Summary

Staff did not always ensure that patients’ rights under the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA) were upheld. Some detention paperwork was incomplete, resulting in unlawful detention, and informal patients were sometimes required to request leave in ways that created de facto restrictions. Staff did not consistently explain patients’ rights, and audits to monitor MHA compliance were ineffective.

Staff did not always assess or record capacity appropriately, and best interest decisions were not consistently documented or fully reflective of patients’ wishes, culture, or personal history.

All staff had received MHA training, policies and procedures reflected current guidance, and patients had access to independent advocacy. Improvements in administration, oversight, and compliance were implemented following our inspection findings and feedback. However, further work was needed to ensure all decisions were accurately assessed, recorded, and made in patients’ best interests.