Watchdog’s ‘concern’ over mental health units
A WATCHDOG is ‘very concerned’ about the safety of people using the services of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust.
The damning report says inspectors found there was not always enough nursing staff and that permanent staff did not feel safe if bank or agency workers were used.
It follows an unannounced inspection in September by the Care Quality Commission ‘due to on-going concerns about the safety of services.’
Three young patients died in nine months at Prestwich Hospital, one of the Trust’s units. As revealed by the M.E.N. in July, Rowan Thompson, 18, died in October last year, followed by Charlie Millers, 17, in December and Ania Sohail, 21, in June this year.
A campaign group and the families of Charlie and Rowan are campaigning for a full investigation into those cases by NHS England.
Acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units (PICU) which were inspected were at:
■ Griffin ward, an eight-bedded female acute ward at Junction 17, Prestwich
■ Oak ward, a 20-bedded female acute ward at Rivington Unit, Bolton
■ Priestner’s Unit, an eight-bedded mixed PICU at Atherleigh
Park, Wigan
■ Medlock ward, a 21-bedded female acute ward at Moorside Unit, Trafford
■ Brook ward, a 22-bedded male acute ward at Moorside Unit, Trafford
■ Poplar ward, a 20-bedded female acute ward at Park House, Manchester
■ Juniper ward, a 10-bedded male PICU at Park House, Manchester
■ Laurel ward, a 23-bedded male acute ward at Park House, Manchester.
As it was a focused inspection and only looked at the safety of the wards, the ratings overall for the service do not change and remain as good. The service remains ‘requires improvement’ for being safe.
Brian Cranna, the CQC’s head of hospital inspection (mental health and community health services) said: “When we inspected these eight wards run by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, we were very concerned about the safety of people using the services.”
He added: “It was worrying that permanent staff didn’t always feel safe when bank and agency staff were used as they didn’t always have the relevant training to give support if an incident occurred.”
Gill Green, Director of Nursing and Governance for Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We accept there are areas for improvement such as levels of qualified staff on wards, which many NHS trusts are struggling with. However, we have strong contingency plans in place to ensure we remain safely staffed.”