Rainworth mental health care facility requires improvement' after inspection by Government watchdog
A Rainworth mental health care provider says it it ‘disappointed’ after Government watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it ‘requires improvement’ following its latest inspection.
Cygnet Sherwood House and Cygnet Hospital Sherwood on Rufford Colliery Road, are run by Cygnet Behavioural Health Limited and was previously rated ‘outstanding’.
In January 2024, the hospital opened three new wards on the Rainworth site to offer Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and acute mental health services for men.
These wards were not part of the CQC’s assessment.
The service provides assessment or medical treatment for patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and treatment of disease, disorder, or injury.
The service has a controlled drugs accountable officer and a registered manager.
The service was rated as ‘good’ in the categories of caring, effective and responsive, but ‘requires improvement for safe and well-led, leading to an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’.
In their report, CQC inspectors said: “We assessed Cygnet Sherwood House with a site visit on June 18 and 19.
"We undertook the assessment in response to anonymous whistleblowing concerns about a lack of management oversight and governance following a recent incident of illicit drug use by patients at the service.
"We last inspected Cygnet Sherwood House in April 2019 as part of a comprehensive mental health inspection, and we rated the service as ‘outstanding’ overall.
“At this assessment, we rated the service as ‘requires improvement’.
"We found three breaches of regulations relating to safe care and treatment, good governance, and premises and equipment.
"Staff did not always assess risks to patients’ health and safety or take action to reduce those risks, which meant patients’ were not always protected from avoidable harm.
"The providers systems for monitoring and improving the quality and safety of the service were not always effective, and leaders did not consistently identify or address issues.
"Staff did not always keep premises and equipment clean, suitable for their intended purpose, or properly maintained, which increased the risk of infection and affected patients’ comfort and safety.
“We requested that the provider submit an action plan to address the concerns identified during this assessment.”
A Cygnet spokesperson said: “We are disappointed with the recently published CQC rating and recognise the importance of consistently delivering safe, high-quality care.
"Following the inspection, we focused on addressing the concerns identified and have taken significant action to do so over the last eight months.
“Our internal patient safety team have undertaken a review of practices on site and a refurbishment programme of the facilities is well underway.
"We were pleased to see the CQC awarded us good across three domains – effective, caring and responsive.
“We remain committed to working closely with the CQC, commissioners and our staff team to ensure the highest standards of care, safety and experience for every individual who receives care at Sherwood House and Lodge.
"We look forward to demonstrating the positive impact of these changes at the next inspection.”