CQC inspectors judge Priory Arnold mental health hospital inadequate again

CQC inspectors visited the hospital in August

A mental health hospital has been told it must make improvements after inspectors judged it inadequate.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an unannounced inspection at the Priory Hospital in Arnold in August.

It said this followed concerns raised about unspecified incidents at the hospital.

The Priory said it was disappointed with the findings and working hard to address the inspectors' concerns.

The 52-bed hospital, run by Partnerships in Care Limited, provides acute mental health services for adults on its Newstead and Bestwood wards and has a psychiatric intensive care unit on its Rufford and Clumber wards.

The CQC had visited the hospital in March 2021 deemed it inadequate and placed it in special measures, which remain still.

Further enforcement

It declined to give details of the incidents that triggered the August inspection.

Midlands CQC deputy director Greg Rielly said: "We will continue to monitor the service closely and if sufficient improvements are not made we will not hesitate to further use our enforcement powers to ensure people receive the safe and appropriate care they deserve.

"We were concerned that people's safety was still an issue following several previous inspections, where areas of improvement have been highlighted to the provider.

"Although some improvements have been made, these had not been fully embedded, and the service wasn't improving fast enough to mitigate any risks to people and support their recovery."

The CQC inspectors found:

• There was not sufficient improvement to the safety of patients since an inspection in 2020

• Governance processes and the way the hospital was led did not always ensure that people remained safe

• Privacy and dignity was not always protected with sanitary bins not routinely available meaning women had to hand used items directly to staff

• Furniture was poor and not fit for purpose

• Patients said there was not enough to do and were bored

The Priory said a new director had been appointed to oversee improvements

The CQC said the provider actively involved people and families in care decisions, developed holistic recovery-oriented care plans and that beds were available when needed.

A Priory spokesman said: "We are obviously disappointed by this report, but since the inspection five months ago, we have worked extremely hard to implement a comprehensive action plan that addresses all areas raised with us by the CQC.

"The hospital has a new director who is overseeing continuous improvement and is leading a team which is fully committed to ensuring our patients receive the compassionate and safe care they deserve."