- SERVICE PROVIDER
East London NHS Foundation Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
Assessment report published 8 October 2026
Contents
Ratings - Community-based mental health services for adults of working age
Our view of the service
We carried out an inspection of the trust’s community-based mental health services for adults of working age on 25 November to 27 November 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 mental health 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.
East London NHS Foundation Trust is part of the North East London Integrated Care System (ICS) and was part of the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICS. Since April 2026, Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICShas been replaced with a new single organisation serving 3.5 million people across Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire Peterborough called NHS Central East Integrated Care Board (ICB). There are 3 local authorities across Bedfordshire and Luton 1 of which is in the most deprived category of all local authorities in England.
The population of the North East London ICS area is over 2 million, with significant health inequalities across the 6 local authorities and City of London Corporation. Each local authority is more ethnically diverse than the national average. Three of the local authorities are in the most deprived category of all local authorities in England. Suicide rates within the ICS are lower than the national averages for both males and females across all local authorities and rates of emergency hospital admissions for self-harm are lower than the national average for both males and females across all local authorities.
The trust’s community-based mental health services for adults of working age are spread across 4 geographic localities:
- Bedfordshire and Luton
- Newham
- City and Hackney
- Tower Hamlets
The way in which services were organised and delivered varied across the 4 localities and across different teams. This included differences in governance systems.
Across the 4 localities the teams included community mental health teams (CMHT), early intervention services and recovery teams, as well as neighbourhood mental health teams, community integrated mental health teams and community mental health hubs. Neighbourhood mental health teams are local, community-based services that merge older community mental health teams and primary care into integrated hubs. Community integrated mental health teams are teams that work with primary care networks, or groups of GP practices, and are made up of a range of health and social care professionals who co-ordinate care packages and treatment. Community mental health hubs provide walk in options and are local centres that provide joined-up mental health, social care, and housing support.
In the Tower Hamlets locality was the Barnsley Street Neighbourhood Mental Centre. This was one of six pilot sites opening around the country and provided a range of mental health services. These included planned and drop-in sessions with psychiatrists, nurses, OTs, psychologists, social workers, voluntary sector and peer support workers.
We inspected the following teams:
Bedfordshire and Luton
- Ampthill CMHT (Bedfordshire)
- Beacon CMHT (Bedfordshire)
- Bedford DECAR Hub
- Bedford North CMHT
- Bedfordshire and Luton Mental Health and Wellbeing Services
- Bedfordshire Recovery Team
- Biggleswade CMHT (Bedfordshire)
- Crombie CMHT (Bedfordshire)
- Dunstable CMHT
- Early Intervention Service (Bedfordshire)
- Luton Community Mental Health Hub – North
- Luton Community Mental Health Hub – South
- Leighton Buzzard CMHT
- Meadow Lodge CMHT (Bedfordshire)
- Spring House CMHT (Bedfordshire)
- UNISE
Newham
- Community Integrated Mental Health Team (South)
- Community Integrated Mental Health Team (North)
- Community Recovery Team North (Newham)
- Early Intervention Service (Newham)
- Recovery Team South (Newham)
City and Hackney
- City Hackney Single Point of Access
- City and Hackney North CMHT
- City and Hackney South CMHT
- EQUIP Team (Early Intervention City Hackney)
- HEADS UP - Mental Health Early Detection Service (City Hackney)
- Neighbourhood Recovery Service
Tower Hamlets
- Barnsley Street Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre
- Bethnal Green Neighbourhood Mental Health Team
- Bow Poplar Neighbourhood Mental Health Team
- Early Intervention Service (Tower Hamlets)
- Isle of Dogs Neighbourhood Mental Health Team
- Stepney Wapping Neighbourhood Mental Health Team
At our last inspection, in June 2016, we rated the service as good overall. We rated safe, effective, caring and responsive as good and well-led as outstanding. There were no breaches of regulation. At this inspection the rating has changed to requires improvement. We rated safe, responsive and well-led as requires improvement. We rated effective and caring as good. We found 4 breaches of regulation relating to:
- incident reporting and investigation
- the deployment of sufficient staff, who had completed mandatory training and received supervision and appraisal
- timely access to appropriate care and treatment
- governance.
We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this inspection.
People's experience of this service
During our inspection we spoke to 16 people who used services and 9 carers. Feedback from people was mixed with some people praising the ‘personable and professional staff’. People told us that the service met their individual needs, and staff were compassionate and supportive. People told us that they understood their medicines and were involved in their care.
However, some people told us that they were not always able to get through on the telephone when they contacted the service. People told us that appointments and any changes were not always communicated well to them, and not all the people we spoke to were aware of how to make a formal complaint or had a copy of their care plan.
Feedback from carers was also mixed. Carers told us that they felt well supported by the service. One carer told us ‘there is always someone there’. They told us they received useful tools and felt they were involved in care planning. Carers told us that the service would signpost to external organisations, such as employment and education support, and they would make any necessary referrals such as to cognitive behavioural therapy.
However, carers also told us that appointment information was not always clear, and this could be improved. Some carers said there had been a long wait to see a doctor, and they were not aware of carers assessments or any forums or support groups.
Bedford Borough Healthwatch received feedback between April and December 2025 from people using services and carers about long waiting times for psychological input, difficulties accessing and communicating with the service, and staff not always handing over information to other teams to ensure continuity of care.