Updated 14 May 2014
The Trust’s Headquarters is located in Dudley. This is the registered location for all of the trust’s community-based services.
While the services are registered to this location, many of the services are located throughout Dudley and Walsall.
Updated 14 May 2014
The headquarters of Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust is in Dudley. This is where all of the trust’s community activities are registered to, but the services are in various locations across Dudley and Walsall.
The community services we visited were :
We found that safeguarding and systems for reporting incidents were robust and ensured people were safe.
There was a consistent assessment approach across community teams, and information could easily be understood and transferred between the types of services.
There was a single assessment tool which ensured continuity and consistency of care.
Across the community services, we found good risk assessment in place, as well as systems for flagging where more than one member of staff needed to attend.
There was no formal induction programme in place for agency staff and they were not always aware of the trust’s lone working policy.
There was a lack of out-of-hours and crisis intervention services for children and young people. Waiting times from initial assessment were lengthy.
There was good evidence of multi-agency and cross-sector working.
We saw good examples of learning from audits and incidents being shared across the trust, and practice being changed as a result.
There were inconsistencies in how the teams we visited obtained people’s views.
We saw good examples of the executive team visiting local delivery teams, as well as positive involvement of non-executive directors.
Updated 14 May 2014
Community Recovery Service for people in Walsall
The staff team consisted of clinicians and professionals who were well trained and knowledgeable.
Referrals to the service were responded to quickly, and action was taken according to the person’s level of risk.
Records were made of contacts with each person to ensure a detailed account of the support provided was available for other professionals involved with their care.
Links with other community services had been established to support people with their individual needs and to reduce the need for hospital admissions.
Community Recovery Service for people in Dudley
The team is caring and works well with other teams and agencies. The team is responsive to service user needs.
Early access service
The staff team consisted of clinicians and professionals who were well trained and knowledgeable.
Referrals to the service were responded to quickly, and action was taken according to the person’s level of risk.
Records were made of contacts with each person to ensure a detailed account of the support provided was available for other professionals involved with their care.
Some people who used the service were positive about the staff, saying they were helpful, friendly and supportive. Other people were not so positive and reported not being listened too or supported as they felt they should be.
Liaison services
All of the staff that we spoke with were familiar with incident reporting, safeguarding people and risk assessing. There was a lone working policy in place; however this was not always being followed, which meant there was a risk to the safety of staff and people using the service.
There was an effective assessment procedure in place, as well as effective multi-disciplinary working. Staff were able to access training and support.
People were involved in the care planning process. Care plans were clear, goal oriented and included people’s views.
Feedback about the service at a local level was not being sought, which meant it could not inform service planning for the local community. There was a clear complaints system was in place.
Most of the staff we spoke with told us they felt well supported by their managers. Clinical audit was carried out periodically throughout the year.
Updated 14 May 2014
Overall, we found that children and young people received their care from well trained and qualified staff who understood their needs.
Staff were committed to, and enthusiastic about, their work and received good support and supervision. However, some children and young people waited a long time for a full assessment of their needs, and for access to specialist therapies. We found significant gaps in the service as there was no access to services out of hours, or intensive homecare provision to support children and young people in a crisis. IT systems were time consuming and frustrating for staff, and hindered their ability to work effectively.
Updated 14 May 2014
The community based crisis team is staffed by well-trained, skilled professionals. Referrals to the service were responded to quickly and action taken according to the person’s level of risk.
Records were made of each contact with the person to ensure a detailed account of the support provided was available for other professionals involved with their care.
On-call doctors and senior nurses were available to support staff with decision making in the event of an emergency.
It was reported that at times the service was extremely busy and, with high workloads, additional staff may be beneficial.
Community-based crisis team out-of-hours service
The service was staffed by well-trained skilled professionals. Referrals to the service were responded to quickly, and action taken according to the person’s level of risk.
Records were made of each contact with the person to ensure that a detailed account of the support provided was available for other professionals involved with their care.
On-call doctors and senior nurses were available to support staff with decision making in the event of an emergency.
It was reported that at times the service was extremely busy and, with high workloads, additional staff may be beneficial.
Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team (CRHT)
All of the staff that we spoke with were familiar with incident reporting, safeguarding people and risk assessing.
There was an effective referral and assessment procedure in place, as well as effective multi-disciplinary working. Staff were able to access training and support.
People were involved in the care planning process. Care plans were clear, goal oriented and included people’s views.
Feedback about the service at a local level was not being sought, which meant that it could not inform service planning for the local community. There was a clear complaints system was in place.
Most of the staff we spoke with told us they felt well supported by their managers. Clinical audit was undertaken periodically throughout the year.
Updated 14 May 2014
Overall we found that people experienced responsive care that promoted their physical and psychological recovery. People’s needs were fully assessed and any physical risks they faced were closely monitored. Staff worked well with other agencies to ensure that people received additional support when necessary. Staff told us they enjoyed their job and received good supervision of their work. They reported that senior managers were easy to engage with and took their concerns seriously. However, we found that the quality of the service was not routinely monitored or assessed to determine its overall effectiveness.
Community & mental health inspection reports for Trust Headquarters can be found at Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust. Each report covers findings for one service across multiple locations