Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

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• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

This means we looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has changed to Requires Improvement.

People told us they not always supported and treated with dignity and respect, but staff felt respected and supported at work.

This service scored 60 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider did not always treat people with kindness, empathy and compassion. They respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

We spoke with 5 patients who told us that whilst some staff were kind and caring towards them, there were some staff who weren’t caring or interested in supporting them. Some patients reported feeling unliked, belittled or bullied by staff. Patients told us some staff spent most of their shift in the nursing office and weren’t present in the ward area.

The trust shared minutes of the patient’s peer support meeting where patients reported they hadn’t had a 1-1 with their named nurse in 6 months. However, they knew their named nurse was available if needed.

Some patients told us staff did not always support them to understand and manage their care, treatment or condition. They told us did not feel their views were always listened to in review meetings.

Staff received comprehensive training in equality, diversity and human rights, with 100% of staff having completed up-to-date training. This ensures that staff understand and apply principles of fairness and inclusion in their daily practice. In addition, 100% of staff had completed the Oliver McGowan Learning Disability and Autism Awareness training, to provide them with the skills to support patients with learning disabilities, autism and other neurodivergence.

The service treated people as individuals but did not make sure their care, support and treatment always met their needs and preferences, or take account of their strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

The service did not always meet the sensory needs of patients with neurodivergence. During the inspection one patient was given a sensory plan without any explanation of how to implement it, they had not accessed sensory equipment before to know how it worked. However, the service had a sensory pathway that included a full sensory assessment, development of a sensory plan and implementation. Neurodivergent patients told us they felt overstimulated in the ward environment and were unable to take part in some group activities as a result.

Staff ensured that information on treatments, local services, patients’ rights, and how to complain was displayed on the ward.

Staff supported people’s religious, cultural and spiritual needs.

We did not look at Independence, choice and control during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. They responded to these in that moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff were aware of and dealt with any specific risk issues, such as self-harm, falls and choking, and care planned for these accordingly.

Staff identified and responded to changing risks to, or posed by, patients. Staff completed a full review of each patient at handover meetings, including any risks or needs identified during the previous shift. These included mental and physical health, engagement with staff and other patients and any changes in mood or behaviour.

Staff used de-escalation techniques to reduce the need for physical interventions when patients’ behaviours became heightened.

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and they supported and enabled them to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff felt respected, supported and valued. We spoke with 7 staff members who all spoke positively about the support and development opportunities they received. Staff were able to develop through nursing qualifications, social work qualifications and skills based training.

Staff felt positive and proud about working for the provider and their team.

The trust had set up a project with the local constabulary to join a national initiative to tackle violence and abuse towards staff. This included training and awareness for police in supporting staff who report violence, abuse and discrimination.

Staff had access to support for their own physical and emotional health needs through an occupational health service and staff assistance programme. Psychology staff delivered support groups for staff and the service had planned some team building days for staff to look at future planning and building a positive culture within the staff team.

The trust recognised staff success within the service through the annual Pride awards.