- SERVICE PROVIDER
Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
We served a warning notice on Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust on 16 June 2026 for failing to meet the regulations related to oversight of people's physical health when they were prescribed medicines by adult community mental health services.
Assessment report published 10 September 2026
Contents
Ratings - Community-based mental health services for adults of working age
Our view of the service
We inspected Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s (CFT) community-based mental health services for adults of working age from 12 to 22 May 2026. The community-based mental health services for adults of working age form part of the trust’s mental health services in the community. This inspection was completed as part of CQC's Adult Community Mental Health Programme. We also inspected crisis services and health-based places of safety as part of the programme. The programme of inspections contributes to CQC's commitment to inspect the standard of care in community mental health services across the country. We undertook a short notice announced, comprehensive inspection of this service, looking at all 5 key questions to assess if services are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
CFT provides care and treatment to people living in Cornwall and the Scilly Isles. It is part of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly integrated care system, which includes 2 unitary local authorities, Cornwall Council and the Council of the Isles of Scilly. Cornwall’s population is over 580,000 whilst the Isles of Scilly’s population is just under 2,500. During peak holiday season, it is estimated Cornwall’s population temporarily increases by around 200,000.
Cornwall is more deprived than other areas in the southwest. The populations of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are not very diverse, and Cornwall is not very densely populated. The area has relatively high life expectancy, and the number of deaths in the under-75s is lower than the national average. In 2023 to 2024 rates of intentional self-harm that required hospital admissions were lower when compared to national data, though the rate for females was more than double that of males.
CFT’s community-based mental health services for adults of working age include community mental health teams (CMHT), early intervention teams (EIT) and a mental health access and brief treatment team (MHABTT). MHABTT triages referrals to community mental health services, assesses people’s needs and provides brief treatment interventions. The CMHTs provide care and treatment for adults aged 18 to 65. Both EITs comprise early intervention in psychosis support for 14 to 65 year olds experiencing their first episode of psychosis, and Kernow at-risk mental state (KARMS) support for people aged 16 to 35 who are at risk of developing psychosis.
For this inspection, we inspected the following teams:
- Penwith CMT
- Kerrier CMHT
- Carrick CMHT
- Restormel CMHT
- Caradon CMHT
- North Cornwall CMHT
- Mental Health Assessment and Brief Treatment Team
- EIT East
- EIT West
We last inspected CFT’s community-based mental health services for adults of working age in 2022, when we rated it requires improvement. In 2022 we identified 5 breaches of the regulations in relation to waiting times, premises and equipment, timely access to psychological therapies, deployment of sufficient staff who had received appropriate training and supervision, and governance processes. This inspection, we have again rated the service requires improvement. We identified 5 breaches of the regulations in relation to staffing, physical health monitoring, timely access to assessment and treatment, timely access to psychological interventions, and governance processes. Although improvements had been made since our previous inspection, these had not yet resulted in the sustained improvements required and many of these changes were not yet sufficiently embedded to demonstrate a consistent positive impact on people's care, treatment and outcomes.
In instances where CQC has begun a process of regulatory action, we may publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded, if the action has been taken forward. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this inspection.
People's experience of this service
People’s experience of the service was mixed, with mostly negative feedback about access to services, but positive feedback about the kindness and compassion of staff and teams.
We talked to 14 people who used services and 3 carers of people who used services. Feedback was mostly positive. Most people told us they felt the adult community mental health service kept them safe. Most people told us staff were kind, caring and compassionate. Some people told us the service had ‘saved their lives’ and that staff knew them well enough to identify if they needed more frequent or different types of support. All people who had a named key worker told us they found their key worker approachable and helpful, and responsive to their changing needs.
Nobody told us they had to wait a long time to access services. One person told us there was very little wait to be seen after being referred to the service.
All 14 people who used services told us the service met their needs, including creating individualised care plans and crisis plans to support them and to help their loved ones and carers to support them.
Four people who used services told us that staff supported them with their physical health concerns, including those unrelated to mental health medicines.
However, one person who used services told us they felt some staff were not adequately trained to support people who were neurodivergent. One carer told us the service lacked sufficient understanding of their autistic loved one's needs and was unable to provide appropriate support for them, which meant they had to seek help privately. However, the other 2 carers we spoke to told us they, and their loved ones, were well supported by the service and staff understood their loved ones’ needs well.
Healthwatch Cornwall published a report in February 2025, in which most feedback about the adult community mental health service was negative. The report included the findings of a survey of 514 individuals accessing NHS mental health care and treatment. Findings showed people who used services experienced long waits for appropriate support, were sometimes affected by staffing shortages, and that support was not always easily available for neurodivergent people.
Between May 2025 and April 2026, Healthwatch Cornwall received 268 items of feedback concerning adult community mental health services. This included feedback relating to community mental health teams, general mental health services, and cases where the specific team was unknown. Of the 268 items of feedback, 83 were positive about the service, including 4 which specifically named Alexandra House (Restormel CMHT) as being helpful. The other 185 items of feedback were negative about the service. Most people told Healthwatch Cornwall that it was difficult to access mental health support, and that waiting lists for treatment were too long, without any support offered whilst waiting. Some people said they had to seek private support and treatment due to the long waiting lists within the adult community mental health service.
In April 2026, Healthwatch Cornwall produced an update to its February 2025 report, titled Mental Health: Updated thematic trends. It stated that feedback from people who used services continued to highlight ongoing system pressures in adult mental health services, with long waits, limited access, poor continuity, and workforce constraints contributing. However, it highlighted that there was positive feedback about interactions with individual staff and community services.