Durham Mental Health Service rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission

A Durham hospital which provides care for women with mental health needs has been rated ‘Good’ by the regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with inspectors praising the respectful and compassionate care provided by staff.

Cygnet Appletree, the Cygnet Health Care-run service in Meadowfield, Durham, is a 25-bed mental health hospital for women. The hospital is split over two floors and has two wards: Bramley and Pippin.

In the new CQC report, published following an inspection of the service in October, inspectors concluded that it is ‘Good’ across all domains – safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

Inspectors spoke to 14 patients and three carers as part of the inspection and the feedback was positive. They said staff treated patients with compassion and kindness and respected patients’ privacy and dignity.

The report read: “The service met the needs of all patients. Staff understood the individual needs of patients and supported patients to understand and manage their care, treatment or condition. Staff were discreet, respectful, and responsive when caring for patients.

“Staff supported patients and gave them emotional support and advice when they needed it. Staff directed patients to other services and supported them to access those services if they needed help. Patients were supported to remain in contact with home teams and we saw good interaction during ward rounds.

“They actively involved patients and families and carers in care decisions.”

Hospital Director Martin Graham said everybody at the service was happy with the result of the inspection.

He added: “I am so pleased with this outcome for Team Appletree. It is confirmation of the great care they provide to patients who come to Appletree at a very difficult time in their lives.  All staff have contributed to the growth and success of the hospital and I am very proud of them and the rating we have achieved through teamwork.”

The report also commended the safe and clean ward environments and praised staff for their ability to assess and manage risk well. It said staff minimised the use of restrictive practices, managed medicines safely, followed good practice with respect to safeguarding and planned and managed discharge well. It highlighted the strong leadership at the hospital with managers ensuring staff received training, supervision and appraisals when necessary. It added that staff developed comprehensive care plans, provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the patients and in line with national guidance and said patients had access to the full range of specialist care.

It read: “Staff supported patients with activities outside the service, such as work, education and family relationships. Staff encouraged patients to develop and maintain relationships both in the service and the wider community. Staff helped patients with communication, advocacy and cultural and spiritual support.”