The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has upgraded the overall rating of forensic inpatient and secure wards at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust from inadequate to requires improvement and rated perinatal services as good.
CQC carried out the inspection at forensic inpatient and secure wards in October to follow up on concerns raised at previous inspections. Inspectors visited all medium secure and low-secure male and female wards at the trust’s main site in Prestwich (previously known as the Edenfield Centre).
CQC carried out the inspection of perinatal services in November as part of CQC’s continual checks on the safety and quality of NHS mental health services. Inspectors visited Laureate House (Anderson Ward) which is a mother and baby inpatient unit with ten ensuite rooms and a flat for partners who wish to stay overnight.
Inspectors found:
At forensic inpatient and secure wards:
- Staffing shortfalls, particularly in relation to registered mental health nurses, were negatively impacting on people’s care.
- People weren’t always having checks of their physical health, which were required due to long term conditions or the medicines they were taking, at the intervals stated in their care plans.
- Staff ensured wards were safe and clean and the management of fire and ligature risks had improved since the last inspection.
- People and their carers were able to feed back to the trust on their experience of the service. Inspectors saw evidence of action being taken in response to this feedback.
- Admissions to, and discharges from, the wards were managed well, with no issues affecting how quickly people were seen and treated throughout services.
At perinatal services:
- Laureate House had a full multidisciplinary team with a variety of professionals to support women and their babies holistically.
- Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and were responsive to their needs.
- Leaders were skilled and knowledgeable about the service and were approachable to staff and people.
- Women’s partners were also involved in the assessment, care planning process and goal setting.
- Staff involved the necessary healthcare and social care services to ensure women had continuity of safe care, both within the service and post-discharge.