CQC upgrades child and adolescent mental health wards at Cheadle Royal Hospital to good

Child and adolescent mental health wards at Cheadle Royal Hospital have been upgraded from requires improvement to good following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The hospital, which is run by Affinity Healthcare Limited, provides inpatient mental health services for young people and adults. Its child and adolescent mental health wards provide support for young people aged between 11 and 17.

CQC carried out the inspection in April after receiving information of concern about the service.

At its previous inspection, the regulator identified multiple breaches of regulations. Inspectors found that the hospital had since made the necessary improvements in a number of areas, with one regulatory breach remaining in relation to safe care and treatment.

The ratings for responsive and well-led have both improved from requires improvement to good. Effective and caring remain rated good, while safe continues to be rated requires improvement.

The overall rating for Cheadle Royal Hospital remains requires improvement.

Inspectors found that staff treated young people with kindness and compassion while respecting their privacy and dignity. Young people and their families were also involved in decisions and planning around their care.

CQC found that leaders understood how the wards were operating and were visible and approachable to both staff and the young people receiving care.

The service was found to be responding well to people’s needs. Staff managed cases effectively and avoided moving young people unnecessarily between wards. They also worked to support young people to leave hospital as soon as they were well enough to do so.

Discharge planning involved working alongside community teams and commissioners to help young people move into appropriate placements when leaving hospital.

Inspectors also found that young people’s physical and mental health needs were thoroughly assessed when they were admitted. Care plans were regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in their needs.

However, CQC identified continuing safety concerns.

Medicines were not always stored safely, creating a risk that young people could receive medication that was out of date or had not been kept at the correct temperature.

Inspectors also found that risk records were not always updated quickly enough following incidents. This meant important information about risks relating to an individual young person was not consistently reflected in their care plan.

Maintenance issues and concerns relating to infection prevention and control within the care environment were also identified during the inspection.

Despite these remaining concerns, the latest inspection represents an improvement for the child and adolescent mental health wards, with CQC finding that action had been taken to address several of the regulatory breaches identified previously.

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