Mental health services 'require improvement'

Some mental health services provided by an NHS trust have been downgraded from "outstanding" to "requires improvement" following a visit by the watchdog.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the community-based mental health services provided by the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust for working age adults in February.

It found issues including outdated care plans, long wait times and insufficient training and support.

The trust said it had implemented an action plan which included using temporary staff and offering assessments on weekends to reduce wait times.

The watchdog also found the trust had not made learning disability and autism training mandatory, which was a violation of the Health and Care Act 2022.

The trust said it had now remedied this.

CQC official Victoria Marsden said the team had found a "deterioration in the standards of care" provided by the trust since its last inspection in 2016.

She said the trust had created a culture where staff could not "deliver high quality, person-centred care".

She also said some patients had told them they waited two years to access services.

"People had received an initial phone call, but they didn't always find it helpful and still had to wait to access therapy sessions which they found frustrating," Ms Marsden said.

The team also found that staff did not always explain to people their rights under the Mental Health Act in a way that they could understand.

Nevertheless, she said most patients told them staff were discreet and respectful.

"They felt staff listened to their views and preferences, and explained their treatment in a way they understood," she said.

The trust said: "We recognise that improvements need to be made and will take action to ensure that the concerns identified are addressed."

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