Cygnet Hospital Harrogate Rated Highly by CQC
A mental health hospital in Harrogate has been praised for the support provided to service users with Care Quality Commission inspectors highlighting the “outstanding” caring nature of its staff.
The regulator’s report on Cygnet Hospital Harrogate praised the high standard of care offered at the service and highlighted many areas of positive practice, saying the hospital had embedded a “person-centred” culture.
The service, on Ripon Road, is part of the Cygnet Health Care division, and offers a care service for men and women suffering with acute mental health.
The inspection, which took place in August, looked at all key lines of enquiry; Safe, Caring, Responsive, Well Led and Effective. The service was awarded a Good rating overall, with Outstanding in the Caring domain.
As part of the inspection, the CQC spoke with service users and their loved ones, as well as staff. Feedback from patients about the care they received was consistently good and exceeded their expectations.
Patients who spoke to inspectors said this was the best hospital they had been to and that all staff, including housekeepers and catering staff contributed to a positive inpatient stay. The latest patient satisfaction survey data indicated that 96% of patients said staff were caring and supportive.
The report read: “All patients we spoke with told us they were actively involved in planning their care, their personal cultural, social and religious needs were taken into account and they were given a copy of their care plan.
“Patients felt they were given ownership of their illness and encouraged to take responsibility for themselves.”
Families and carers said they were happy with the care and treatment their loved one received. They said they felt involved in the patient’s care.
Praising the outstanding caring nature of the service, inspectors said staff treated patients with compassion, kindness and respect. They said: “Advocates we spoke with reported that there was a positive energy and atmosphere on the wards.
“They said there was a strong person-centred culture, staff prioritised patients’ needs and went to great lengths to ensure they did their best for every individual.
“Feedback from patients was extremely positive which indicated that staff proactively built positive relationships with patients in a short space of time.
“Staff gave patients help, emotional support and advice when they needed it. Patients said that staff were compassionate, patient and went out of their way to accommodate their needs.”
Highlighting how staff understood and respected the individual needs of each patient, the CQC inspection team said the hospital offered numerous training courses for staff which included autism awareness, epilepsy awareness, diabetes awareness, deaf awareness, working with personality disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The report read: “The knowledge and skills of staff ensured patient’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs were considered and adjustments could be made, or additional support arranged prior to admission.
“Patients felt genuinely listened to in terms of their individual requirements, dietary, communication or neurodiversity needs. One patient told us that due to her communication difficulties there was a member of staff who was able to communicate with her using a language they could both understand.”
The report added that staff received training to give them the necessary knowledge and skills and that the service had a full range of specialists to meet the needs of the patients. Managers supported staff with appraisals, supervision and opportunities to update and further develop their skills.
It applauded the teamwork at the hospital, saying “staff from different disciplines worked together as a team to benefit patients. They supported each other to make sure patients had no gaps in their care.”
Additionally, the leadership of the service was celebrated throughout the report, with inspectors saying the hospital had positive and proactive leadership which strived to achieve the best outcomes for patients and meet the values of the organisation. Staff were “inspired”, “motivated”, and “felt respected, supported and valued.”
Hospital Manager Gavin Clark said: “We’re all absolutely delighted with a good overall from the recent inspection but to get an outstanding in the caring domain was the cherry on top.
“That the report recognises the contribution of multiple departments in this – and not just clinical teams – felt a real validation of the entire staff group’s efforts. I feel so proud of everyone and would like to thank all of my staff for their hard work and dedication towards providing high-quality, compassionate care.”
The report also highlighted that the ward environments were safe and clean and that staff assessed and managed risk well. It said staff minimised the use of restrictive practices, managed medicines safely and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
