- SERVICE PROVIDER
Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
Assessment report published 24 August 2026
Contents
Ratings - Wards for older people with mental health problems
Our view of the service
We completed an assessment of Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust and assessed 1 assessment group: Wards for older people with mental health problems
Onsite assessment activity took place between 8 and 9 April 2026.
This was a comprehensive assessment including all quality statements. The reason for the assessment was due to the length of time from the last assessment which was in 2018.
This was an unannounced assessment, which means the service was not told an assessment was going to be starting beforehand.
We visited all 4 wards within the older adults mental health inpatient service. This included Stanley and Pembleton wards at Manor Hospital in Nuneaton, Ferndale ward at St Micheal’s Hospital in Warwick and Woodloes ward at Woodloes Hospital in Warwick.
Stanley and Pembleton wards provided acute assessment and treatment for women with suspected dementia. These wards had 12 beds each. Ferndale ward provided acute assessment and treatment of men with a functional mental illness. This ward had 20 beds. Woodloes ward provided treatment for females with a functional mental illness and had 15 beds.
At this assessment we identified breaches of regulations 12 Safe Care and Treatment and 17 Good Governance. These breaches related to mandatory training and a lack of risk assessments. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.
We spoke with 32 staff members and 16 patients on site. We observed a variety of activity including general interactions between staff and patients, multi-disciplinary meetings, medication rounds, mealtimes and activity groups. We also made phone calls to 8 family members of patients, with their consent.
Mental Capacity Act
Staff were required to complete training on the Mental Capacity Act. On most wards, over 90% of staff had completed this training. On Woodloes Ward, 75% had completed this training.
The provider had a policy on the Mental Capacity Act, including deprivation of liberty safeguards. One patient had a deprivation of liberty safeguards plan in place.
Mental Health Act
Over 85% of staff had completed mandatory training on the Mental Health Act 1983.
The provider had relevant policies and procedures that reflected the most recent guidance.
Staff had easy access to local Mental Health Act policies and procedures and to the Code of Practice.
Patients had easy access to information about independent mental health advocacy.
Staff explained to patients their rights under the Mental Health Act in a way that they could understand, repeated it as required and recorded that they had done it.
Staff ensured that patients were able to take Section 17 leave (permission for patients to leave hospital) when this has been granted.
Staff requested an opinion from a second opinion appointed doctor when necessary.
Staff stored copies of patients' detention papers and associated records correctly and so that they were available to all staff that needed access to them.
Staff ensured patients who were sectioned under the Mental Health Act had access to post-discharge care in line with their rights. For example, S117aftercare meetings, community mental health services and crisis services. Staff planned for patients’ discharge, including good liaison with care managers/co-ordinators.
People's experience of this service
We spoke to 16 patients as part of this assessment. They mostly told us that staff were friendly and kind, and visible on the wards. Most patients told us they felt safe, had family visits, the food was good and the environment was clean. One patient told us: “I don’t have any concerns at all” and another told us: “I feel better than when I came in”.
There was a range of activities for patients across the service. Patients on Pembleton ward told us they get to leave the ward with staff support to the local area, as well as do activities such as gardening. A patient on Ferndale told us about music and arts activities. A patient on Woodloes ward told us that they could sit in a quiet room to read a book if they wanted to.
Feedback was more mixed on Stanley ward. We held a group discussion with 3 of the patients. One patient said that staff did not always enable them to go to church. Another patient said that, at times, they were asked to go to bed before they wanted to. Another patient felt they were taking medication unnecessarily.
Family members of patients reported a positive experience of the service across all sites. One person said the staff help their wife be independent. Another person told us their mother had severely neglected herself, but that staff worked with her to maintain excellent personal hygiene.
All family members we spoke to felt assured that their loved ones were being well looked after across the service. Family members told us they felt involved in their loved ones’ care and that staff were “lovely” and “caring”.
We observed warm and caring interactions between staff and patients.