West Yorkshire mental health hospital placed into special measures after being rated inadequate

A West Yorkshire mental health hospital has been placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission after it was rated inadequate during a focused inspection in September.
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Cygnet Woodside is an independent mental health hospital in Bradford providing care for up to nine male adults with a primary diagnosis of learning disability.

At the time of the inspection there were eight patients using this service.

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The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has taken action after it identified serious risks to patient safety.

Cygnet Woodside is an independent mental health hospital in Bradford providing care for up to nine male adults with a primary diagnosis of learning disability.Cygnet Woodside is an independent mental health hospital in Bradford providing care for up to nine male adults with a primary diagnosis of learning disability.
Cygnet Woodside is an independent mental health hospital in Bradford providing care for up to nine male adults with a primary diagnosis of learning disability.

As a result of their recent inspection, the hospital has been placed in special measures.

Its current rating of Good for caring has been suspended.

CQC carried out the unannounced inspection following allegations of abuse by staff towards a patient.

There is an ongoing police investigation into this incident, the CQC said.

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CQC rated the safety, effectiveness and whether the service was well-led as Inadequate, with the responsiveness of services rated as Requires Improvement.

This gives an overall rating of Inadequate for Cygnet Woodside, the CQC said.

Dr Kevin Cleary, CQC deputy chief inspector of hospitals and lead for mental health, said: “Our latest inspection of Cygnet Woodside found that the hospital was not ensuring its patients’ safety.

"We have placed the service in special measures and also suspended its current Good rating for being a caring service until it is able to demonstrate improvements in this area.

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“The service showed warning signs that increased the likelihood of a closed culture developing.

"This would have put people at serious risk of coming to harm if we didn’t take action.

“There wasn’t always the right number or skill level of staff looking after people, which compromised their care.

"A high turnover of staff coupled with carers not always following risk assessments, meant people weren’t always treated as individuals - putting them at risk.

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“We have told leaders at this service what they must do to improve and will continue to monitor Cygnet Woodside closely. S

"hould we see insufficient improvement, CQC will not hesitate to take further action to keep people safe.”

Inspectors have told the service what it must do to keep people safe from contracting COVID-19 as staff were not always wearing face masks and those that did were not always wearing them properly.

The service had inherent risk factors and warning signs that increased the development of a closed culture, the CQC said.

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On the ward areas, inspectors found a strong odour of urine, damaged walls, and peeling paint as well as intermittent issues with the television.

However, the service provided inspectors with a programme of works that are to be completed by January 2021 including new flooring in parts of the service and a full refurbishment of the shower room, bedroom corridor and the quiet room.

The inspection report is available on the CQC website.