Broomhill: Mental health hospital's future in doubt

An inspection of Broomhill found staff copy and pasted between care plans resulting in wrong names and genders

The future of a mental health hospital where staff mimicked a patient behind their back is in doubt.

Broomhill in Spratton, Northamptonshire has been issued with a notice proposing to remove its registration by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

An inspection this year found staff had copy and pasted between care plans - resulting in wrong names and genders.

The provider said it was confident its representations against the proposal would be accepted.

The 99-bed hospital was rated as requiring improvement at an inspection in January and inspectors found "managers did not ensure safe environments for patients and staff".

The facility - run by St Matthews Healthcare - was placed into special measures in February 2020 and a year later inspectors found staff were "mimicking and copying a patient behind their back".

That year, the CQC published a proposal to remove the location's registration, which successfully was appealed against and the provider moved out of special measures in November 2021.

Broomhill is located outside the village of Spratton in Northamptonshire on the site of a former hotel

Board papers for the Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board state that after another inspection in June 2023 the service was again issued with a notice of proposal to remove its registration.

In a statement St Matthews Healthcare said: "Since the inspection we have engaged in a thorough internal review to address the findings presented in the notice.

"We acknowledge the shortfalls that were identified and have acted swiftly to make the necessary amends.

"It is of utmost importance to us that we maintain a high standard of care, ensuring both its quality and safety for our patients.

"To that end, we have implemented robust processes to prevent any recurrence of the identified issues and ensure that the improvements made are sustained."

It said it remained "confident that our representations against the [notice of proposal] will be accepted by CQC".

The CQC said the findings of the June inspection will be published "once it has been through the usual quality checks".

"Our main priority is always the safety of people using health and social care services and if we have concerns we will not hesitate to take action in line with our regulatory powers," the spokesperson added.