Crisis services keep 'good' rating in inspection

The trust's service teams were rated as "good" by the CQC

Mental health crisis services at an NHS trust have again been rated as good by a watchdog, though it said some staffing improvements were required.

In June 2024, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the crisis services of Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.

It found the service was "effective, caring and responsive" but that it did not have enough "appropriately trained staff".

The trust said it had made "significant progress" since last year's assessment. "We are committed to learning and continuous improvement," its head Brent Kilmurray said.

The CQC's last report into the trust, which was published in 2023, also found that its crisis services were good.

But that assessment found overall the trust "required improvement" for several reasons including people waiting "too long" for access to some services – especially in child and adolescent mental health services.

The trust provides mental health and learning disability services to people of all ages across north-east England, covering County Durham, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby.

High staff vacancies

The latest inspection, which was focused on the trust's crisis services, was prompted by concerns from people who had used the service, the CQC said.

In this assessment the team found that most people felt staff were "kind, caring, respectful and interested in their wellbeing".

But it also found the service did not always have enough staff with the "correct levels of training and supervision".

It also had high rates of staff vacancies in multiple crisis teams, including at Durham and Darlington.

Medicines at the crisis suite of Middlesbrough's Roseberry Park Hospital were also found to not always be "securely stored".

The CQC said since the inspection, the trust had been engaging with the team to ensure people received "safe care".

Mr Kilmurray said the team's retained good rating was "very much down to our committed and hardworking staff".