BIMHN response to Bristol mental health service inspection
March 10, 2016 at 9:28 am
Patients’ views are key to improving mental health services
Listening to the views of people accessing Bristol’s mental health services is vital if Avon and Wiltshire Partnership (AWP) wants to improve the way it cares for patients.
This is the call from the Bristol Independent Mental Health Network (BIMHN) in response to a damning report, which revealed the NHS trust needed to make “significant improvements” to its services.
In December 2015, health watchdog Care Quality Commission (CQC) performed an unannounced inspection on AWP following concerns raised in a whistleblowing letter, as well as by users of mental health services and Bristol’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
As a result of this inspection, AWP was served a warning notice under Section 29A of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 regarding its quality of health care.
The six core areas identified as needing improvement were:
• Care and treatment were not always provided in a timely way.
• There was a lack of safe care and treatment.
• There was a lack of governance systems in place to manage the quality and effectiveness of the service.
• Staff providing care to patients did not always have the competence or experience to provide care safely.
• Staff did not always take steps to safeguard patients from abuse.
• Premises and equipment were not suitable at Brookland Hall and the Greenway Centre.
In the report, the CQC called on the AWP to “undertake an immediate review of the services’ waiting lists and case load, ensuring all patients are allocated to a care coordinator” and to “develop a system to ensure all referrals are tracked and followed up to ensure patients are not forgotten”.
The commissioner gave the AWP until February 1 to meet the requirements and provide information on how they plan to undertake the actions.
BIMHN has since been informed that the trust has met the deadline and that the CQC was satisfied upon further inspection on February 17.
However, the AWP is still subject to a comprehensive review of its governance, assessment and care planning, which should be completed by May 16.
Members of the BIMHN committee have been in conversation with AWP, CQC and Bristol CCG regarding the inspection, and are requesting regular updates on the progress, and more transparency – something they feel has been lacking as of late.
Concerns have also been raised by BIMHN representatives at the recent Recovery Bristol Partnership (RBP) contract and performance management meeting, set up to monitor how people are receiving treatment and support across Bristol.
The AWP has been invited to the network’s March meeting to discuss the report. A response has not yet been received.
BIMHN says that it will continue to monitor the situation closely and ensure the voices of its members, and users of mental health services across the city, are heard during this critical time.
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March 10, 2016 at 9:28 am | News | No comment