Lincolnshire mental health hospital dirty and unsafe, CQC finds

Magna House in Sleaford was found to be unsafe by inspectors

A mental health hospital has been rated inadequate after inspectors found it to be dirty and unsafe, with patients physically assaulted by staff.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Magna House in Sleaford after concerns were raised by police, members of the public and service users.

Inspectors said patients and staff were at risk of avoidable harm.

Owner Enbridge Healthcare Limited said improvements had been made and the report was "already out of date".

The hospital has 29 beds and offers acute care, treatment and rehabilitation services to people experiencing mental health issues.

Inspectors from the CQC visited the hospital in April and were told some people had experienced physical assaults by staff. Their report found there had been incidents involving police, but the CQC was not informed.

Inspectors also found there were not enough registered mental health nurses.

Greg Rielly, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: "We found the standards of care were well below what people have a right to expect. The service wasn't safe and people were at risk of avoidable harm.

"We heard there had been a high number of assaults on staff.

"Following these incidents staff didn't feel supported, and not all staff had been trained around the management of violence and aggression which must be addressed as a priority to keep everyone safe."

Conditions 'unacceptable'

Inspectors also found the hospital was not clean, and some bedrooms were cluttered with crockery and rubbish.

Mr Rielly said: "These conditions are totally unacceptable, and nobody should have to live in a poor, unsafe environment like this."

A spokesman for Magna House said: "By omitting the full findings of its own subsequent inspection in June, it [the CQC] has presented an impression of the service that is no longer accurate.

"Following the CQC's April inspection, there was a rapid turnaround to deal with the issues raised.

"A review of our clinical model was already under way prior to the April inspection and some extremely complex patients have been transitioned to more suitable facilities, for their own safety and that of our staff."

He added: "Magna House has a highly trained medical team that manages extremely complex patients, which local mental health services within the NHS cannot, and our focus has always been on providing the best possible care for everyone.

"For a short period of time, we did not deliver to our usual high standards and for that we apologise."