Cygnet Hospital Wyke

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

At our last assessment we rated this key question inadequate. Following this assessment the rating has changed to good.

Leaders had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their roles.

Staff knew and understood the provider’s vision and values and how they applied to the work of their team.

Governance processes now operated effectively. Performance and risk were managed well.

Teams had access to the information they needed to provide safe and effective care.

Staff collected analysed data about outcomes and performance. They used this to identify improvements.

Overall, feedback from external partners positive.

However, an advocate raised concerns about a staff member's attitude towards a patient.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff told us that management had actively promoted a culture in which people felt empowered to speak out about any concerns. Staff were happy, motivated and felt valued.

Staff spoke highly of the hospital manager and other members of the senior leadership team.

Staff told us that they felt that there was still work to do in terms of engagement with staff, patients, families, advocates etc. The social worker team continued to contact families for feedback and to share information. They also coordinated a service user satisfaction survey upon discharge. However, there had been limited responses received to these surveys.



Managers told us staff were given opportunities to discuss the strategy of the service and the organisation's core values during team meetings, daily huddles and during supervision sessions.



Managers ensured staff completed their required training in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion.

The provider's five core values were:



• Care: Listening to and caring for others

• Respect: Treating people fairly and understanding the value of diversity

• Empower: Giving people the power to make informed decision

• Trust: Building and maintaining trust

• Integrity: Being trustworthy, fair, and ethical



We spoke with patients, carers, staff and leaders within the service who were able to give examples and anecdotal evidence of how they adhered to these values and implemented them into their daily roles.

Managers told us there was a high emphasis on developing staff to enable them to progress into management roles.



The hospital manager visited the wards every day and helped with day-to-day tasks. For example, they completed hourly observations after an incident on Bennu ward on the first day of our assessment.



Staff felt listened to and supported by their managers and senior managers to undertake their roles.



Staff said that managers within the service recognised success. Staff further added they felt this improved morale and workplace wellbeing.



Managers monitored staff morale within their respective teams. Managers operated an open-door policy to encourage staff to speak with them about any problems or concerns. Managers were able to gauge staff morale during daily huddle meetings, debriefs, team meetings and during supervision sessions.

Managers encouraged staff to raise their concerns or ideas for improvement and provided feedback on decisions made in response to them.



There were regular meetings on the wards which allowed managers to hear and engage with staff who wished to raise issues; facilitate debriefs and collaboratively put plans in place for improvement.

Staff, including managers up to director of operations level, felt able to raise concerns without fear of reprisals. They knew how to access the provider's whistleblowing policy and information about the freedom to speak up guardian on the intranet.



Staff told us there were freedom to speak up champions within the service that they could approach to support them in raising concerns. They also said since the appointment of the current hospital manager, a more open and positive culture had been established.

Senior managers promoted the freedom to speak up process within the service. There was a local freedom to speak up champion who had worked at the hospital for several years.



The provider's whistleblowing policy was available on the provider's intranet. The policy was also discussed with staff in team meetings. Contact details for the Care Quality Commission were displayed in ward areas as another avenue for patients and staff to raise concerns.

There were equality and diversity champions within the service for the various networks and they were known to all staff members. Their contact details were displayed should anyone want to speak with them. Staff told us the champions were very passionate and advocated for patients and staff. There was a champion for each ward within the hospital.



Staff told us respect and valuing diversity was part of the provider's core values. An example given was how the hospital met patients' religious and spiritual needs. There had been events covering 'Black History Month' and there had been LGBT+ events that took place during the summer.



Staff undertook diversity and inclusion annually and the subject matter was discussed within team meetings and management supervision sessions.



Staff told us that people were able to apply to work flexible hours to take personal circumstances into account such as caring responsibilities or health issues. Some staff within the service were already on flexible working arrangements.

There was a mix of staff from different backgrounds and ethnicities on the wards which were representative of the patient group. There were autism and LGBT+ people employed within the hospital.

The provider had various networks championing equality and diversity such as the multicultural network, women’s network, disability network, carers network, LGBT+ network, and equity, diversity and Inclusion Group of which Wyke was a part.

Equality monitoring was undertaken by the provider's human resources team and via recruitment processes.

The provider was in the process of supporting overseas nurses to address potential issues around practice and, there was an overseas lead within the organisation.

Commissioners told us that they felt confident that staff on the wards notified them regularly and accordingly with the hospital processes.



Partners fed back to us that they felt the service took a proportionate approach to managing risk

Governance systems were effective, were reviewed and reflected best practice.

All areas of the service building were safe and clean.

There were enough skilled, trained and experienced staff within the service who received supervision and were appraised.



Patients were assessed and treated well. Staff adhered to legislation and knew how to deal with complaints and reported incidents and safeguarding concerns. The medicines management arrangements now worked well.



Managers shared lessons learned from investigating complaints, incidents and safeguarding issues.



Staff received information governance training.



There was a technology director within the organisation. They were reviewing the whole process for managing and protecting electronic systems. There were firewalls in place and, extensive IT training was provided to staff. Staff could report suspected phishing emails by pressing a button to alert security. Additional security could be installed on computers when required.



There was a business continuity plan which included details of who to contact and what steps to take when an emergency arose such as, adverse weather, pandemics, loss of information technology and the loss of premises



There was a clear framework of what must be discussed in team meetings to ensure that essential information, such as learning from incidents and complaints, was shared and discussed.



Staff participated in local clinical audits which provided assurance, and staff acted on the findings accordingly.



Staff understood the arrangements for working with internal and external teams and organisations, to meet the needs of the patients.



Staff submitted data and notifications to external bodies when needed. We looked at 11 incidents that had happened within the service and saw evidence safeguarding referrals had been made to the local authority and statutory notifications had been made to the Care Quality Commission when appropriate.

Staff invited family members and external professionals to meetings so they could discuss any issues and receive any updates about their patient's / family member's care and treatment.



Patients that we spoke with told us they were able to give feedback on how to improve the service they received. They were able to speak to staff, managers or suggest them in the ward meetings.

Staff told us that they undertake mandatory training and are encouraged to engage in training that is in addition to their required training. They share learning within team meetings, team debriefs and within reflective sessions.



The hospital manager told us that he met regularly with the local community members to update them on improvements made and which had been planned for.



Social workers within the team worked in partnership with housing providers, social care providers and other healthcare organisations to facilitate the smooth and appropriate discharge of patients from the service.

Stakeholders told us that they feel confident that the service updated them accordingly. They felt staff were open, honest and transparent in their communication about patients, risk and improvements.



However, an advocate raised concerns about a staff member's attitude towards a patient.

Staff had access to regular team meetings on the wards. They offered a forum for staff to propose, exchange and discuss ideas in terms of good practice.



Staff could attend reflective practice sessions facilitated by the psychology department.

Staff that we spoke with said managers listened and considered any ideas staff shared with them for improving the service or about concerns around patient care.



Two preceptorship nurses that we spoke with had taken up employment within the service following a placement as a student nurse. They felt the support, guidance and encouragement that they received during their time as a student had positively influenced their decision to apply for their current roles.

The service ensured regular reflective group sessions took place on each ward which allowed for the exploration of best practice, improving the patient experience and ongoing learning. These sessions were facilitated by members of the psychology team.

Improvements had been made to the medicines management arrangements within the hospital. There were now additional checks on a daily basis. Medicines management was discussed during sitrep and huddle meetings. Fridge checks were now completed daily. Managers had taken disciplinary action against staff who were unable to practice safely.