Greater Manchester Mental Health trust downgraded to 'inadequate'

The Edenfield Centre in Prestwich

An NHS mental health trust investigated in an undercover BBC report on patient abuse has been downgraded from "requires improvement" to "inadequate".

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it was "disappointed" by recent inspections of the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.

It said patients continued to be cared for in some wards that "were not safe".

BBC Panorama uncovered a "toxic culture of abuse" at the trust's Edenfield Centre in Prestwich in September.

Jan Ditheridge, the trust's recently appointed interim chief executive, said she was "very sorry", particularly to "service users and carers".

The trust provides mental health care and treatment for more than 1.2m people living in Wigan, Salford, Bolton, Trafford and Manchester.

The CQC reviewed the trust's leadership and services from January to March, before conducting unannounced follow-up inspections in April of wards for older people with mental health needs.

Inspectors visited Greenway ward at the Moorside unit in Davyhulme and three wards at the Woodlands hospital, Salford.

The Edenfield secure unit was the subject of a Panorama investigation

Ann Ford, CQC director of operations in northern England, said when inspectors returned to the trust it saw a "continuation of concerns" regarding patient safety that needed to be addressed urgently.

She said there were "areas of concern we'd highlighted at the last inspection" that had not improved.

"There were... ligature risks, broken furniture and fittings, and poor safety audits in the acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units, which continued to put people at risk of harm."

She said there was a lack of connection between the trust's leaders and front-line services.

"Leaders need to urgently improve their oversight," she said.

But Ms Ford said inspectors had also found positives.

She said staff at all levels told inspectors the culture had significantly improved and that they now felt "able to speak up and raise any concerns".

She added that there had been improvements on the mental health wards for older people and on the forensic wards.

The BBC investigation found extensive evidence of patient maltreatment at the medium-secure unit and a number of staff members were sacked or suspended following the programme.

Neil Thwaite announced he was stepping down as chief executive in April

Following the BBC's investigation, NHS England began an independent review - led by Prof Oliver Shanley OBE - into the trust's Edenfield Centre and its other secure services.

The investigation also triggered a review by the Good Governance Institute. Its report, published in March, said the trust put those in its care and staff at "undue risk".

The boss of the trust, Neil Thwaite, announced he was stepping down in April.

Ms Ditheridge said a "tremendous amount of work has taken place" to make the required improvements since the inspections.

She said there were "some promising signs" that had been recognised by the CQC.

She added the trust would "continue to work hard" to improve the service.

Undercover Hospital: Patients at Risk

A BBC Panorama undercover investigation has found evidence that a secure NHS psychiatric hospital is failing to protect some of its vulnerable patients.

Available now on BBC iPlayer (UK Only)

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