CQC stops new patients at some St Andrew's Healthcare wards

Inspectors found understaffing at St Andrew's Healthcare was "a significant concern"

A mental health hospital has been prevented from taking new admissions on some of its wards by health inspectors.

It follows an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at St Andrew's Healthcare in Northampton.

Inspectors were told patients did not feel safe and "staff fell asleep when they were supposed to be observing" people, the CQC said.

St Andrew's apologised for the problems and accepted there were "a number of areas where we need to improve".

The CQC inspected the men's and women's services in July and August.

It said women in the long stay and rehabilitation wards told inspectors the site often felt dangerous due to understaffing.

'Not always safe'

Both the men's and women's services were "regularly short-staffed which often led to patients having their escorted leave, therapies or activities cancelled", the report said.

Not all staff were "suitably qualified or competent" to be carrying out their roles, it added.

The report also said senior managers and staff did not always treat patients with compassion and kindness on the long stay rehabilitation and learning disability and autism wards.

Stuart Dunn, from the CQC, said: "When people with mental health needs receive care, all possible steps must be taken to ensure they get appropriate care in a safe environment.

"Our inspectors found that this wasn't always happening at the men's and women's services at St Andrew's Healthcare."

'A challenging period'

Following the inspection, St Andrew's Healthcare cannot admit new patients to the forensic, long stay rehabilitation wards on the women's service, or the wards for people with a learning disability on the women's and men's services, without consent from the CQC.

It must also make sure there are adequate staffing levels so observations can be carried out safely, that staff receive appropriate training for their roles and audits of incident reporting are completed.

An action plan detailing improvements must be sent to the CQC on a fortnightly basis.

The overall rating for the men's service remains "requires improvement", with the women's service remaining "inadequate".

Jess Lievesley, chief executive of St Andrew's Healthcare, apologised and said the hospital had "not been able to provide the care consistently across all our wards at all times".

He said: "There's no disputing that staffing throughout the pandemic has been challenging for both St Andrew's and other healthcare providers."

Andy Brogan, the charity's chief nurse, said there had been "a reduction in the number of patients", which had helped improve the quality of care.