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CQC Warning For Health Trust

The Care Quality Commission has issued a formal warning to Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership over levels of staffing at Blackberry Hill Hospital in Bristol.

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Hospital trust say they 'accept concerns'

We fully accept the concerns raised by the CQC and have taken immediate action to address them.

Prior to the CQC inspection of Fromeside in December 2012, we were aware that staffing levels and the mix of skills and experience on some wards needed to be improved in order to enhance the level of care we offer. The very specialist nature of our forensic services and the need for us to ensure we have experienced and highly trained staff in this environment has and will continue to be a challenge.

– Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

They added:

We have now appointed an experienced service manager with significant forensic experience to manage the service. We have increasing management and staff engagement to ensure there is a forum for discussing any concerns and for action to be taken where necessary to resolve them.

The quality of patient care, and ensuring that we deliver the programmes of care, remain the priority of the Trust at all times.

– Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

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Staff became 'tired of reporting their concerns'

Staff told us that shortages had become so commonplace that they had become tired of reporting their concerns as they perceived that nothing was done about it, but this cannot be allowed to continue.

The trust has assured us that they will be taking action to address our concerns and meet the standards. They are required to show us how they will go about this. We will return in the near future and if we find that they are not making the required progress we will consider further how to use our legal powers to protect the patients who use the service."

– Ian Biggs, Deputy Director of CQC in the South

Report finds 'over reliance on temporary staff'

Inspectors say there weren't enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs. Below are the main findings of the CQC report into staffing levels at the Blackberry Hill Hospital in Bristol.

  • There was an over reliance on temporary bank staff, who may not have had the necessary training to undertake the full range of duties on a medium secure unit.
  • Even though many patients at Fromeside were only permitted to leave the ward with staff escorts, staff shortages restricted people's ability to leave the ward.
  • Patients and staff said that leave was regularly cancelled or disrupted, leading to further problems affecting staff and patient morale.

CQC warn health trust over staffing levels at Bristol hospital

The Care Quality Commission has issued a formal warning to Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership over levels of staffing at Blackberry Hill Hospital in Bristol.

It followed an unannounced inspection of three wards at the Fromeside Unit in December. The medium secure unit provides specialist care and treatment for adults with mental disorders, which may mean that they are at significant risk of harming themselves or others.

Inspectors found that the unit was failing to comply with the national regulation on staffing and did not have not enough qualified, skilled or experienced staff to meet people's needs.

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