9 September 2013
During a routine inspection
People expressed their views and were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. Staff we spoke with told us that they discussed the treatment options with patients. One member of staff said 'We check back with the patients and their relative's how they are doing to make sure the goals are still realistic, if not we adjust them'. A patient told us 'They discussed my treatment with me and gave me a rehabilitation discharge leaflet with my goals in. I'm 99% there now'.
Patients told us they were happy with the support they had received. One patient showed us their plan which detailed their goals and told us 'I've been doing 20 minutes with the physiotherapist every day Monday to Friday. I've got my own exercises. I do them twice a day and I'm doing a bit longer each time'. We saw patients care plans had been kept under review and updated when their mobility increased and support needs had changed.
Patients had been cared for in a clean and hygienic environment. A patient told us 'You get up and go for breakfast and your bed has all been made for you by the time you get back. They clean every day from top to bottom. I've no complaints about the cleanliness at all; it's been wonderfully clean the whole time I've been here'.
The arrangements in place for obtaining, storing, recording and the administration of medicines were safe. Patients who had been assessed as safe to do so managed their own medicines. One patient told us 'I do my own medicines. I have my own key. They gave me a form to read and sign to say I'm in charge of my own medication".
There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs. Staff told us the dependency levels of the patients being admitted to the centre had been steadily increasing and staffing levels had recently been reviewed. This had resulted in an increase in the staff to patient ratio. An action plan that had been implemented to tightly manage admissions which ensured staffing levels matched patient dependency. This meant patients were not being admitted unless there were sufficient staff on duty with the right skills and experience to meet their assessed needs. Staff told us the higher staff to patient ratio meant they had more time to spend with patients and they felt the service they provided was much safer.
People who use the service, their representatives and staff were asked for their views about their care and treatment and they were acted on. Patients told us they had been asked to complete questionnaires in relation to the care they received at night and during the day. One patient who had raised a complaint told us they were satisfied with the outcome and felt it had been "Handled very well". The trust's web site has a section called 'Get involved' which provided patients with information on how they could get involved in the shaping of the trust and how they could leave feedback. We noted it contained links to other web sites that patients could use to leave feedback in relation to their experience at the trust.