Cygnet Bury Hudson placed in special measures by watchdog

Cygnet Bury Hudson on Bolton Road has been given an overall rating of "inadequate" by the healthcare watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after patients told inspectors that “they didn’t feel safe".

The site provides low and medium secure inpatient services for men and women with six wards and 78 beds.

The CQC inspected the service in five individual areas, rating its safety, whether it is caring and its leadership as "inadequate".

Its responsiveness was ranked as "requires improvement" and its effectiveness scored "good".

It’s report, published today, Friday, said: "Governance processes within the service did not always ensure that wards ran smoothly, and clinical audits were not always effective.

“We found issues in relation to safeguarding, complaint handling, responses to feedback, staff not being able to access patient information in a timely manner, medicines management, staff attitudes to patients and carers, blood monitoring machines not being calibrated.”

However, inspectors also said: “The ward environments were clean. The provider was taking steps to recruit more nursing staff to the service.

“Staff provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the patients and in line with national guidance about best practice.

The service, run by Cygnet Health Care, was last inspected in July 2020 while registered as Cygnet Bury.

Since April 2021, the location has been split into three, including Bury Cygnet Dunes, rated "good", and Cygnet Bury Forestwood which "requires improvement".

This was the first inspection at Cygnet Hudson.

Brian Cranna, CQC head of hospital inspection for mental health and community services, said: “During our inspection of Cygnet Bury Hudson, leaders had a good understanding of the service, however we found a number of very concerning issues.

“People told us they were being bullied and abused by other patients and staff members, and that they didn’t feel safe on the wards.

“They told us staff weren’t always discreet, respectful or kind, and sometimes made negative comments about them. This is totally unacceptable and no-one using health and social care services should experience this kind of treatment.

“Inspectors found safeguarding issues weren’t always recognised and managed effectively by staff, and patients’ needs weren’t always being put first.

“A security breach had led to a patient’s offence being disclosed to others and they had to be moved to another ward after receiving abuse.

“This must be addressed as a priority to keep people safe and protected from harm.

“Staff were also unable to find information we requested which meant they didn’t always have timely access to important information needed to deliver appropriate care.

“However, staff minimised the use of restrictive practices and used de-escalation techniques to minimise the use of restraint on the wards.

“Also, blanket restrictions were in accordance with identified risks and were reviewed regularly.

“We have told the provider to make improvements to ensure that people are safe, and we will monitor the service closely to ensure these are made and fully embedded.

“If they are not, we won’t hesitate to take the appropriate action needed to drive the necessary improvements.”

The service is now in "special measures" which means it will be kept under review by CQC and re-inspected to check sufficient improvements have been made.

In response to the report, a Cygnet Health Care spokesperson said:  “Although we are disappointed with the outcome of the inspection at Cygnet Bury Hudson, we have already started making improvements to address the challenges raised by the CQC.   

We take their feedback seriously and were reassured that the CQC identified many positive aspects in the care we provide, including a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the patients and in line with national guidance about best practice.

"Patient safety is always our priority and any safeguarding concerns that were identified during the inspection last June have already been addressed.

"We have strengthened our systems to ensure any future incidents are recognised and managed effectively.

"We will continue to work closely with patients and their loved ones to hear their feedback, make sure they feel listened to, and act upon it when appropriate.

 Despite the recruitment challenges faced across the sector, we are recruiting more specialist staff so that patients have access to the experts they need.

"Our Quality Assurance Managers, the recruitment of additional Quality Assurance Staff, and the commencement of a patient-led Quality Improvement Project, will further contribute towards improved patient experience.  

Improvements to the facilities are also underway and we will always strive to provide the very highest standards of care. We look forward to being able to demonstrate the improvements we are making at the next inspection.”