Mental health service in Staffordshire and Shropshire told to improve

The inspection came after several serious incidents including the setting of fires at The Redwoods Centre, Shrewsbury, the CQC said

An NHS trust has been issued with a warning notice to improve amid fears for the safety of mental health patients.

The order from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) followed an inspection of provision run by Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

The CQC said its probe in November followed several serious incidents involving patients.

The trust said changes had been made since the inspection.

It runs mental health services across Staffordshire and Shropshire, with inspectors visiting the Redwoods Centre in Shrewsbury as well as St George's Hospital, Stafford.

Following examination of acute wards for working age adults and psychiatric intensive care units, the trust's overall rating for the offering was downgraded from "good" to "inadequate".

The unannounced visits followed incidents in September and October which included three cases in which the CQC said patients took their own lives during a period of leave.

There were also four fires set at the Redwoods Centre.

Inspectors also visited the wards at St George's Hospital, Stafford

Among inspectors' concerns were staff shortages affecting quality of care and a large increase in breaches of mixed sex accommodation protocol.

Patients were also at risk of self-harm as risk assessments were not effectively completed, inspectors found.

The CQC found positives, however, including cleanliness of wards, and staff's use of "de-escalation techniques" to reduce physical interventions.

The warning notice requires the trust to make improvements, by deadline, to improve patient care and treatment.

The trust's chief executive, Neil Carr, said there had been a "significant" amount of change since the inspection, leading to an improvement plan being produced.

The work included better fire safety assessments and recruitment of more staff, he added.

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