- SERVICE PROVIDER
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
Report from 16 September 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Community-based mental health services for adults of working age
Our view of the service
This inspection took place on the 15 to 17 April 2025.
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.
This inspection covered community mental health teams and early intervention teams across Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. During the onsite inspection, inspectors visited the community mental health teams at Kirkby, South Sefton, Baird House and Moss House. Inspectors also visited the early intervention services for Sefton and Kirkby, and Liverpool. Inspectors reviewed data for all community mental health services and early intervention services across the trust.
These services covered the population of Liverpool and the surrounding metropolitan boroughs of Merseyside. This included many areas of social deprivation. People from ethnic minorities made up 8.3% of the population in this area.
At our last inspection of this service, in 2018, we found two breaches of regulations. There were long waiting times for psychological interventions and not all staff had completed role specific training. At this inspection, we found that all staff had completed necessary training. We found that there were still long waiting times for some psychological therapies, but the service could now prioritise patients who needed psychological interventions more quickly.
We found no breaches of regulations during this inspection.
People's experience of this service
The Trust received feedback from people who used services and their families using the ‘Friends and Family’ test. Between January and April 2025, the services we visited received 273 responses with an average positive response rate of over 95%.
Throughout the inspection, we saw that staff had a positive, caring attitude towards people using the services. During appointments we observed, staff listened carefully to what people said and responded with understanding, empathy and encouragement.
We spoke with 6 people who used services. People said staff were professional and empathic. People said that they valued their relationships with care co-ordinators and felt able to have honest conversations about their worries. People felt involved in any decisions made about their care and treatment.