Bradford mental health hospital in special measures and issued with warning notice

A BRADFORD mental health hospital has been plunged into special measures and issued with a warning notice.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected Cygnet Hospital Wyke, on Huddersfield Road, across three days in January.

The inspection took place due to concerns the CQC received about the quality of care and unearthed serious concerns ranging from the management of medicines to an “unacceptable” environment for people with autism and learning disabilities.

In a statement to the Telegraph & Argus, Cygnet said it had requested a review of the rating as it doesn’t feel the outcome reflects the whole hospital setting.

Sheila Grant, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said: “Over the last few years, Cygnet Hospital Wyke has a history of providing care which is below the standard that people have a right to expect, despite several interventions by CQC.

“There is a history of us telling the hospital where they need to improve, but the changes not being widespread, rapid, or embedded well enough to be sustained, which is what we found again at this most recent inspection.

“It’s also why we have placed them into special measures, which they exited in February 2021, in order to keep people safe.”

She added: “We still had concerns across both services, around medicines management.

“We found staff weren’t always completing medicine records appropriately.

“For example, during the inspection, we identified a serious issue with medicine records being altered by staff. We saw gaps in records which had then been completed by staff retrospectively.

There were concerns over medicine records. File picture of a folder (Image: Pixabay)

“This meant people were put at unnecessary risk of harm from potential mistakes being made.

“On Adarna ward, people told us staff weren’t always sensitive to their needs, and they felt the ward was noisy and chaotic.

“Due to this people spent a lot of time in their bedrooms and some people wore ear defenders.

“This is totally unacceptable, and improvements must be made to ensure autistic people and people with a learning disability on this ward receive the high standard of specialist care they need and deserve.

“However, on the Bennu and Phoenix wards, people told us they felt safer than they did when we spoke with them at our last inspection.

“Due to the significant issues we found at this inspection, we issued the provider with a warning notice highlighting where we expect to see them take urgent action to keep people safe.

“We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to take further action if people aren’t receiving the care they have a right to expect.”

The hospital has been placed in special measures which means it will be kept under close review to make sure people are safe and if the CQC does not propose to cancel the registration, there will be a re-inspection to check for significant improvements.

Cygnet has also been issued with a warning notice, to focus its attention on making significant, rapid improvements to its systems and processes around medicines management, its paper records system, as well as the suitability of the environment for autistic people and people with a learning disability.

A spokesperson for Cygnet Hospital Wyke said: “We are disappointed with the outcome of this inspection and the overall rating that has been given.

“Whilst we recognise and respect the importance of regulatory scrutiny, on this occasion we feel the outcome does not reflect the whole hospital setting, nor does it reflect wider feedback from professional stakeholders and authorities who regularly visit and inspect the service.

“The CQC has confirmed this inspection was one of the very last to be conducted under their old methodology. We have therefore requested a review of this rating and would welcome a return visit by the inspection team using the CQC’s new assessment framework, which calculates ratings differently.

“However, we are not complacent and have already begun ensuring improvements are made where required and that those in our care, and their loved ones, are assured of our commitment to high-quality care.

"The inspection team highlighted improvements in the report and upgraded the PICU and Acute wards to ‘good’ for being effective, caring and responsive. A number of positive areas for the service were identified.

“Our priority is always to provide high standards of care and we are committed to making the necessary improvements to do so.”