Turnaround for mental health trust

THE trust providing mental health care for patients in Dudley and Walsall has achieved significant improvement, inspectors say.

England’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals has rated the services provided by Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust as “good” following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in November.

The trust was previously inspected in February 2016 when it was rated as Requires Improvement overall.

Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust provides inpatient and community mental health services to 560,000 patients across Walsall and Dudley.

Inspectors rated the care provided by staff to be “good” in regard of services which were safe, caring, responsive and well-led – but rated it as “requireing improvement” regarding whether services were effective.

CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals Dr Paul Lelliott said: “The trust can be proud of the services it manages. It has made significant improvements to the quality of care provided to patients.”