CQC finds improvements in Essex child mental health wards

Admissions to the St Aubyn Centre in Colchester have now resumed after they were suspended by the CQC last year

Child and adolescent mental health wards where patients had been harmed due to failings have made improvements according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

But the CQC said the three units at the St Aubyn Centre in Colchester and Rochford Hospital still had work to do.

Their rating has been upgraded to 'requires improvement' from 'inadequate'.

The NHS trust running the services said it welcomed the CQC's findings.

Inspectors visited the wards in March and April this year and found they had enough nurses and doctors and better leadership.

Last September the units were stopped from taking new patients following an inspection prompted by a serious incident.

Admissions have since resumed and services have been rated as "good" for being effective and caring.

The latest inspection report found the service had low vacancy rates as well as low rates of bank and agency staff, but still extensively used outside agencies for nursing assistants.

'Still work to be done'

Body camera footage was also reviewed to see personalised de-escalation techniques being used in an attempt to avoid the use of restraint on children and young people.

Craig Howarth, head of hospital inspection at the CQC, said: "I am pleased to see improvements have been made to the service, but there is still work to be done to ensure every child and young person using it receives the right care and support.

"Our inspection found that there were now enough staff to safely care for people, but some children and young people told us they didn't always know those caring for them, which made them uncomfortable. Some hadn't met their named nurses at all.

"Leaders had an improved understanding of the services they managed and the needs of those in their care but we've told the trust what it still must do to improve further".

The family of 16 year old Elise Sebastian, who died at the St Aubyn Centre in April 2021, are calling for changes to the current independent inquiry into mental health services in Essex

An independent inquiry into the deaths of psychiatric patients in Essex between 2000 and 2020 is currently underway, but is being boycotted by relatives because witnesses are not required to testify on oath.

The family of Elise Sebastian, 16, who took her own life while an inpatient at the St Aubyn Centre in April 2021, is among those calling for the status of the inquiry to be upgraded.

Paul Scott, chief executive of the Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT) said: "It's good news that we've improved the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) over the last year and have seen this reflected in a new Care Quality Commission rating and the lifting of restrictions on admissions.

"This is down to the hard work of our nurses, doctors, health care assistants, allied health professionals, psychologists and wider team."