Archived: The Chimneys Clinic

Updated 28 November 2025

Date of on-site assessment, 28 August 2025.

The Chimneys is a long-term 23-bedded rehabilitation service set across 2 wards that provides specialist care and treatment designed to support women aged 18 and over who have a diagnosis of Personality Disorder (PD). Individuals with other mental health problems and young women who are transitioning from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services were also considered for this service. The Care Quality Commission expects that high dependency rehabilitation services should support patients to re-engage with families and communities’ through assessment, engagement, maximising benefits from medication and reducing challenging behaviours, with the support of a full multi-disciplinary team. The recovery goal for patients is to move on to a community rehabilitation unit, supported accommodation in their own local area or home where appropriate.

The Chimneys is registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for:

Assessment and medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Treatment for Disease, Disorder, and Injury.

The provider had a registered manager and controlled drugs accountable officer.

We carried out this responsive assessment due to receiving information of concern. We assessed 33 quality statements across the Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led key questions.

During this assessment we spoke with staff including hospital managers, nurses and healthcare assistants. We inspected the ward environments and clinic rooms at the hospital. We observed staff and patient interactions on these wards.

We reviewed patient care records, and patient prescription charts and reviewed minutes of various meetings, policies and procedures, data and documents relevant to the running of the service.

We last inspected this service on 23 May 2023. We rated this service as Outstanding and we found no breaches of the Health and Social Care Act regulations (2008). At this assessment the rating changed to Good and we found no breaches of the Health and Social Care Act regulations (2008).

Updated 2 May 2025

Date of on-site assessment, 28 August 2025.

The Chimneys is a long-term 23-bedded rehabilitation service set across 2 wards that provides specialist care and treatment designed to support women aged 18 and over who have a diagnosis of Personality Disorder (PD). Individuals with other mental health problems and young women who are transitioning from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services were also considered for this service. The Care Quality Commission expects that high dependency rehabilitation services should support patients to re-engage with families and communities’ thorough assessment, engagement, maximising benefits from medication and reducing challenging behaviours, with the support of a full multi-disciplinary team. The recovery goal for patients is to move on to a community rehabilitation unit or supported accommodation in their own local area.

The Chimneys is registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for:

Assessment and medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Treatment for Disease, Disorder, and Injury.

The provider had a registered manager and controlled drugs accountable officer.

We carried out this responsive assessment due to receiving information of concern. We assessed 33 quality statements across the Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led key questions.

During this assessment we spoke with staff including hospital managers, nurses and healthcare assistants. We inspected the ward environments and clinic rooms at the hospital. We observed staff and patient interactions on these wards.

We reviewed patient care records, and patient prescription charts and reviewed minutes of various meetings, policies and procedures, data and documents relevant to the running of the service.

We last inspected this service on 23 May 2023. We rated this service as Outstanding and we found no breaches of the Health and Social Care Act regulations (2008). At this assessment the rating changed to Good and we found no breaches of the Health and Social Care Act regulations (2008).

Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act Compliance

Mental Health Act

The service admitted patients under the Mental Health Act 1983. Staff received and kept up to date with training on the Mental Health Act and the Mental Health Act Code of Practice. Mental Health Act Code of Practice training was mandatory for staff and the compliance rate was 100%. Staff had access to support and advice on implementing the Mental Health Act and its Code of Practice. The service had clear, accessible, relevant and up-to-date policies and procedures that reflected all relevant legislation and the Mental Health Act Code of Practice.

Staff explained to each patient their rights under the Mental Health Act in a way that they could understand, repeated as necessary and recorded it clearly in the patient’s notes each time. Staff made sure patients could take section 17 leave (permission to leave the hospital) when this was agreed with the responsible clinician.

There was evidence of informed consent being obtained within patient records. We reviewed patients’ medication charts and saw people detained under the Mental Health Act (MHA), had been prescribed and administered medicines in line with MHA consent to treatment authorisations.

Mental Capacity Act

Staff received and kept up to date with training in the Mental Capacity Act. Staff were required to complete competencies and mandatory training on the Mental Capacity Act. At the time of inspection, the mandatory training compliance rate was 98%.

Staff assessed and recorded capacity to consent clearly each time a patient needed to make an important decision. Staff completed an assessment of each patient’s capacity to consent to admission and treatment on admission and further assessments took place as required.