- SERVICE PROVIDER
North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
Assessment report published 14 August 2025
Contents
Ratings - Mental health crisis services and health-based places of safety
Our view of the service
North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust provides inpatient and community mental health, learning disability, substance misuse and primary care services to people living in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.
We assessed the assessment service group of mental health crisis services and health- based places of safety. This comprised of 1 combined assessment and home treatment team, single point of access and 1 health-based place of safety suite. All are based at the Crisis Care centre at the Harplands hospital.
The service provides 24-hour assessment, treatment and support for people in a mental health crisis at home. This included a dedicated phone line accessed through a direct phone number or the NHS 111 service. The health-based place of safety provides an assessment suite for people who have been detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act by the police.
The mental health crisis services and health-bases places of safety form part of the trust’s mental health services in the community. These services form part of the acute and urgent care directorate. They provide crisis support support and act as the front door to all services within the trust. This inspection was completed as part of CQC's Adult Community Mental Health 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.
We carried out an on-site assessment on the 7,8 and 19 May 2025 and asked for, and reviewed data related to the assessment.
We rated the service as good. The service had enough staff to ensure patient’s safety and meet their needs who were appropriately inducted and trained. Care records demonstrated that patients were fully assessed and risk was managed well. Patients told us they felt included in their treatment planning, staff listened to them and were responsive to their needs. Managers were quick to respond to concerns from staff due to the recent change process.
However,
We found a breach of the legal regulation in relation to good governance. Patients did not always have care plans to guide safe practice and they did not receive a written copy. Staff did not always receive regular supervision and not everyone had an up-to-date appraisal.
We have asked the trust for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.
Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act Compliance
Mental Health Act
Staff were trained in and had a good understanding of the Mental Health Act, the Code of Practice and the guiding principles. Staff received training in the Mental Health Act and were 93% compliant at the time of our assessment.
Staff had easy access to administrative support and legal advice on implementation of the Mental Health Act and its Code of Practice. Staff knew who their Mental Health Act administrators were and relevant policies and procedures were in place. Staff had easy access to local Mental Health Act policies and procedures and to the Code of Practice.
Patients received information about independent mental health advocacy. Staff in the health-based place of safety explained to patients their rights under the Mental Health Act in a way that they could understand and recorded that they had done it.
Staff stored copies of patients' detention papers correctly so that they were available to all staff that needed access to them.Staff did regular audits to ensure that the Mental Health Act was being applied correctly and there was evidence of learning from those audits and incidents.
Mental Capacity Act
Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act. Staff received training in the Mental Capacity Act and were 85% compliant at the time of our assessment.
The provider had a policy on the Mental Capacity Act, including deprivation of liberty safeguards. Staff knew where to get advice from within the provider regarding the Mental Capacity Act, including deprivation of liberty safeguards.
Staff took all practical steps to enable patients to make their own decisions.For patients who might have impaired mental capacity, staff assessed and recorded capacity to consent appropriately.When patients lacked capacity, staff did not always record the decisions made in their best interests.
The service had arrangements to monitor adherence to the Mental Capacity Act.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with 5 patients and 2 carers. Overall people’s experience was positive and they felt staff had helped and supported them. People said staff were kind, compassionate and knowledgeable. They had listened to them and included them in the decision making about their care and treatment. They felt the team had helped them through their crisis period and arranged appropriate aftercare which had been communicated well to themselves, family members and other healthcare professionals or agencies.