Sunflowers Court

We spoke with people who use the service and their relatives/ representatives and staff of different disciplines which included nurses, deputy ward managers, healthcare assistants, consultant psychiatrists, pharmacist and occupational therapy staff.

The majority of people we spoke with said they appreciated the service and that the staff were kind and caring. We observed that the staff generally conveyed a caring attitude with people, though some people spoke of poor communication from staff. People who use the service spoke of being 'bored' and there was a lack of structured and informal activities that took place on the wards.

Where people did not have the capacity to consent, the provider generally acted in accordance with legal requirements in this area though some staff had little understanding of their role within the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Care plans were regularly reviewed across the service. However, we found there was a lack of involvement of people in their care plans, which meant they were not person-centred, and did not focus on individual needs. Risks to people were identified, but there was a lack of risk management planning in relation to these to promote people's safety.

The staff we spoke with said they enjoyed working at the service and received support in their work through training and supervision.

On Titian ward we found that people were not protected against the risks associated with medicines because the arrangements in place to manage medicines, and good practice in relation to medicines administration, was not being followed. Due to these findings we raised our concerns with the local authority safeguarding team.

The service had suitable arrangements in place to safeguard vulnerable people and we were shown examples where these had been acted on to keep people safe. We found that the premises were well laid out and adequately maintained, although Kahlo Ward appeared in need of some cosmetic improvement.

We also found there was a suitable number of trained staff to meet people's needs.

Most people told us told us that staff were respectful and polite. People felt listened to and were asked their opinions about their treatment and care, 'I do feel listened to. I feel listened to by the doctor too. He pays me attention'. Another person told us 'I was asked my opinion, very much. I feel safe here now'.

We found that care planning and risk assessments were being updated and accurately reflected what people had told us about aspects of their treatment. People's opinions were documented too. This was also an accurate reflection of what people had told us.

We found that the environment was clean and safe. People told us that they had been assisted by staff to make a complaint but were unclear about whether a timely response had been made by the trust.