- SERVICE PROVIDER
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
Report from 13 December 2024 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Community-based mental health services for adults of working age
Our view of the service
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership provides community mental health services across Cheshire and Wirral. We carried out assessments at 4 community teams across this footprint. We assessed 20 quality statements across safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led key questions. We interviewed 22 staff across the sites and observed meetings and care onsite at community locations as well as out on home visits. We spoke to 20 patients on and off site and 7 carers remotely. We found patients were treated with kindness and compassion across all sites. Key workers knew patients well and continuity of care was maintained. The creation of a high-risk board and morning handover meeting was supporting good oversight and management of current and emerging risk within teams. These meetings also promoted shared risk management within teams. There was a focus on safety and concerns or incidents were managed and investigated appropriately. Learning from incidents was regularly shared. Staff teams were also happy and well supported and workloads were generally manageable. However, we noted some inconsistencies in case note documentation across all sites in risk and safety plans. This was of particular note in consultant led caseloads, which were large across all sites. It was also clear within key worker caseloads that the level of care being provided was not always accurately reflected in the case notes. There had also been notable difficulties across sites in recruiting psychologists, leading to a marked reduction in or absence of psychology provision within teams. Teams also raised concerns about increasing acuity in their caseload and an increased need to provide crisis support for their patients.
People's experience of this service
Patients we spoke to were mostly very positive about the service. They told us staff knew them well and had a caring approach. Patients felt listened to and said they felt fully involved in their care. Feedback from carers was positive about the care and treatment family members received. Relatives told us that staff were supportive and they kept them involved in their loved one’s care.