- SERVICE PROVIDER
Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
Report from 21 March 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Wards for older people with mental health problems
Our view of the service
Date of on-site assessment 07 and 08 August 2024.
We carried out a responsive assessment of Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust in response to concerns we received regarding patient care and treatment in St Brelades Ward and Herm Ward.
Both wards are wards for older people with mental health problems. At the last inspection in April 2019, the overall rating for trust was outstanding with the older people wards in the trust rated good in safe, effective, responsive and well led and outstanding in caring.
We reviewed 2 key questions: safe and well-led and we reviewed evidence submitted from staff at the trust.
We rated the key questions and rated the service overall as good. We found two breaches of the legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment and governance.
Improvements were evident across all wards including reducing patient capacity on St Brelades ward, which has helped staff adapt, attend training and support patients and each other. The Executive team now reviewed all admissions and change in patient flow with robust plans to not just accept everybody
However, there were still concerns about medication management, the documentation around the use of covert cameras including best interests meetings and risk assessments. Staff on Herm Ward could not always access information about risk easily as it was recorded in many places. Risk assessments and care plans did not always include consistent risk information.
There were policies about the use of shared rooms but apart from the initial risk assessment, there was little evidence of patient consent.
New governance systems were in place following the recent death of a patient but needed to be further developed.
People's experience of this service
During this assessment, we spoke with 16 family members and 3 patients. The feedback about St Brelades Ward and Herm Ward was mixed.
Family members and patients told us that St Brelades Ward needed more staff who are experienced. They also raised concerns about the amount of food patients were given, the lack of activities and the use of agency staff.
Patients gave positive feedback about staff. Patient and relatives described the interim manager on St Brelades Ward as' brilliant'. They said staff were really turning everything around and doing a good job.