Northamptonshire NHS trust praised by Rishi Sunak criticised by watchdog

Mr Sunak praised the Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust's mental health crisis and community services as "trailblazing" during his visit in January

An NHS trust praised by the prime minister for its treatment of people with mental health issues needs to improve the safety of its service, the health watchdog said.

The Care Quality Commission inspected some adult acute and psychiatric wards run by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in August.

It found issues with risk reviews and some patient discharge procedures.

The trust said it was working to address the issues identified.

Earlier this year, Rishi Sunak visited the trust and praised its mental health crisis and community services as "trailblazing".

Services at two Northamptonshire hospitals were inspected by a CQC team

Some of the services at St Mary's Hospital in Kettering and Berrywood Hospital in Northampton were the subject of an unannounced visit by the CQC inspection team, which concentrated on some acute wards for adults and psychiatric intensive care units.

• Prime minister praises trust's mental health work

CQC found concerns raised over safety - which had prompted the surprise inspection - "were not substantiated during the inspection".

However, rating the safety of the services as "requires improvement", they highlighted that three of the four wards inspected "did not have the most up-to-date ligature risk reduction plans visible for staff" and five patients "told us they had not been involved in discharge planning".

He met with doctors and clinicians to discuss NHS mental health facilities and support

The report also said "some weekly risk reviews were not comprehensive and did not capture incidents in detail" and that one ward was in need of redecoration.

However, it also stated that "most patients we spoke with were positive about their care and treatment and felt safe", and that staff were aware of individual patient risks and "managed incidents by using de-escalation skills, with physical interventions being a last resort".

Among the inspectors' recommendations were that "the trust must ensure that risk assessments, reviews, and care plans relating to risk are easily accessible, comprehensive and accurate".

The trust's chief executive, Angela Hillery, said: "We will work closely with the CQC alongside our staff, service users, carers and stakeholders to address identified areas for improvement."

The overall rating for the services on the wards remained as good, and the overall rating for Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust remained rated as outstanding, CQC confirmed.