Troubled Redditch mental health unit cuts bed numbers

The mixed-gender Hill Crest ward is being investigated after a raft of complaints

A mental health unit in Redditch is to cut bed numbers temporarily due to ongoing safety problems.

It follows reports of staff being assaulted at the troubled Hill Crest unit, on the Alexandra Hospital site.

A Care Quality Commission (CQC) report into earlier concerns is due to be published next week.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Healthcare NHS Trust said it accepted standards were not at the level expected.

The BBC has been told of an incident where a cleaner was punched in the face by a patient and a nurse who went to her rescue had his leg stamped on and broken in two places.

There was another assault on a member of staff last month, with the Unison trade union saying it had "taken too long" to address long-running problems on the unit.

The Hill Crest unit is based on the Alexandra Hospital site in Redditch, Worcestershire

The father of one patient was so concerned about the care his daughter was receiving that he camped outside the building and refused to move.

It is claimed three further members of staff have now resigned and others are on sick leave - leading to a lack of cover on the ward.

Mike Wilson, from Unison, said he had received reports of multiple issues at the weekend and some staff had said they were "not able to work here any more".

The NHS trust is to temporarily cut the number of patients from 18 to 10 to allow time to focus on quality of care on the ward and make the best use of the staff available.

After the CQC inspection in July, it said it implemented a number of changes which helped stabilise the ward.

But ongoing issues with low levels of nursing and healthcare staff meant some of the improvements were still not fully embedded, it added.

Regular agency staff

The trust said it could not comment on specific incidents, but those that resulted in harm were taken seriously and subject to internal investigation.

In a letter to staff, seen by the BBC, it said there had been challenges with staffing at Hill Crest for at least two years.

There was not the right mix between permanent and temporary staff to safely operate 18 beds, the letter added.

It outlined the trust's plans to rebuild a stable Hill Crest team by encouraging secondments on to the ward and block-booking regular agency staff.

It also said a temporary quality improvement manager would be introduced to embed consistent clinical processes.

A draft copy of the CQC report has been delivered to the NHS trust and is expected to be published next week

The trust said it had seen a copy of the CQC's report before it was finalised and published.

"This process has not delayed the action taken by the trust. As soon as issues were raised by the CQC, we established a comprehensive action plan which was progressed immediately," a trust spokesperson said.

The CQC carried out an emergency inspection after an incident in July in which a patient had boiling water mixed with sugar, resulting in staff locking themselves in an office.

There was a fire on the ward in August and there have also been reports of an alleged rape and a patient being able to abscond twice.

A BBC investigation also identified staff sleeping at work and an alleged bullying and sexually inappropriate culture on the ward.

The CQC said it would publish its report into Hill Crest shortly.

It said the issues identified by the BBC had been reported to it and it was continuing to monitor the service.

Mr Wilson, from Unison, said: "It looks like the trust has finally responded and taken action.

"It's taken too long. We have been reporting to them for two years. This kind of action we would have expected last year, when [the BBC] ran the first story."