Archived: St Clements Hospital

Foxhall Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 8LS (01473) 329000

Provided and run by:
Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

Important: This service is now managed by a different provider - see new profile

All Inspections

26 July 2011

During a routine inspection

We spoke with eight people who used the service of the Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT), six agreed to speak with us by telephone and two agreed to speak with us in person. People spoken with were complimentary about the support that they received from the service and their care coordinator. They told us that they were able to make contact with the team when they felt that they were becoming ill and that support was provided to assist them with their recovery. Those people who had received cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) were positive about the effects that it had on them and the people that were important to them. People told us that they were very happy with the support that they had been provided with, such as advice about benefits and medication.

All people that were spoken with told us that they had participated in their care planning and that they had been consulted with about the treatments and support that they were provided with.

People told us that they knew how to make a complaint about the service if they needed to and those who had raised concerns felt that their complaints were addressed to their satisfaction. One person told us that their care coordinator had assisted them to request changes in their support when they were not happy and that the issue had been addressed.

21, 26 April 2011

During an inspection in response to concerns

We spoke with sixteen people that used the service during our visits to the location. The majority of people were positive about the approach of the staff, they told us 'the staff are kind' and 'the staff do their best'. Six people told us that some staff were better than others and shared examples with us about how they felt uncomfortable asking for assistance from some individual staff members. This is further discussed in the main body of this report.

The people we spoke with who used the service told us that they knew how to make a complaint and that if they were not happy with the outcomes to their concerns or complaints there were other organisations that they could contact for assistance. One person showed us notices posted in the ward that advised people of how they could make complaints about the service that was provided. Another person shared an example of a recent complaint that they had made. They told us that their concerns were listened to, acted upon promptly and dealt with to their satisfaction.

The majority of people that we spoke with told us that they had been consulted with about their care plan and the contents of their care records. Two people told us that they did not know what was in their care records and that the staff had not sat with them and discussed the contents. However, the two people's care records showed that they had been consulted with.

People told us that the quality of food was good. However, we heard varying comments about the size of the portions of food provided and that sometimes there was no provision of 'seconds' if people were hungry after they had eaten their meal. People told us that there were always two choices of meal and that specific diverse dietary needs were met, such as the provision of vegetarian, vegan and Halal meals. People we spoke with who used the service were positive about the facilities that were available, such as the gym and the opportunities for gardening.