BIMHN shares vital feedback on local services
May 16, 2016 at 5:31 pm
BIMHN members had the opportunity to provide some vital feedback about the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust (AWP) as part of a forthcoming service inspection.
Health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), is reviewing the AWP’s services over the coming weeks to monitor whether the trust has made the required “significant improvements”, following an unannounced inspection last December.
And listening to the views of Bristol’s mental health service users, as part of the inspection process, is highly important, BIMHN has said.
A whistle blowing letter instigated last year’s unannounced inspection, and revealed a number of serious concerns including care and treatment not being provided in a timely way; a lack of safe care and treatment; staff not taking the right steps to safeguard patients from abuse; and unsuitable premises and equipment at two of its inpatient sites.
As a result, the AWP was served a warning notice under Section 29A of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 regarding the quality of its services.
BIMHN has continued to monitor the situation closely, scrutinising the delivery of the required improvements, and requesting regular updates on the progress, as well as more transparency – something they feel has been lacking over the years.
Two inspectors from the CQC attended the BIMHN meeting on May 9 2016, asking members what’s good about AWP’s current services and what can be improved.
Both inpatient and community care services – which are being inspected – were focused on during the meeting.
A wide range of comments were provided by members to the CQC representatives, who will now feed back to the commission’s inspectors.
Members were informed that once the overall inspection has taken place, it will take up to three months to compile and release the report.
BIMHN has requested that a representative from the CQC attends our monthly meeting in September to discuss the findings in the report and any proposed actions.
Do you have something you want to feed back about your experiences of using mental health services provided by AWP? You can contact BIMHN by emailing or you can contact the CQC directly at or by heading to their website.
May 16, 2016 at 5:31 pm | News | No comment