A hospital in Bury has been moved out of special measures following "significant improvement" but concerns remain around safety.

Cygnet Bury Hudson, off Bolton Road, is a private mental health facility providing inpatient services for men.

The facility was given an overall rating of "requires improvement" following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in March.

The inspection followed a previous report published by the healthcare watchdog which gave the hospital an overall rating of "inadequate" after patients told inspectors “they didn’t feel safe".

The CQC has now increased its overall rating after judging several areas, including the efficacity of services, the level of care and responsiveness to patient needs, as "good".

However, safety and leadership of services were individually judged as "requires improvement".

The report said: “All wards were mostly safe, clean, well equipped and, well furnished. However, not all wards were well maintained and seclusion suites were not fit for purpose.

“Senior managers confirmed there was a programme of works due to refurbish all the wards and this was due to be completed by December 2023. This included a full redecoration of all wards.”

The report noted that following its last inspection, in June 2022, Hudson had implemented a new safeguarding process “that worked well and met the needs of patients and staff”.

It continued: “Safeguarding was becoming embedded into daily practice.

“Each ward had a daily designated safeguarding staff member to observe communal areas and be aware of any safeguarding matters arising.

“The wards had enough nurses and doctors. The service had significantly improved its recruitment and retention rates.

“They minimised the use of restrictive practices and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding and complaints. The safeguarding and complaints processes had been improved and were now working effectively.”

A spokesperson for Cygnet Bury Hudson said: “Although we remain disappointed with our overall rating, we are encouraged to see that Cygnet Bury Hudson has been rated good in three lines of enquiry; effective, caring and responsive.

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“In particular, we feel encouraged that the report praised our outstanding co-production approach to quality improvement and acknowledged our improved recruitment and retention rates.

“The report highlighted that previous areas of concern, including safeguarding and the attitude of staff, had been immediately addressed and inspectors also noted how we had strengthened our processes to give patients a voice and to ensure future incidents are recognised and managed effectively.

“We were pleased that inspectors emphasised the skills, compassion and kindness of our staff, our effective discharge processes and our holistic and our recovery-oriented care plans which were in line with national guidance about best practice.

“We will continue to make the necessary improvements at the service and we will always strive to provide the very highest standards care. We look forward to being able to demonstrate the improvements we are making at the next inspection.”