Agenda item

A presentation will be provided by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.

The Committee received a presentation from Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) regarding the Bradgate Mental Health Unit and actions taken in response to the Healthwatch Leicestershire report entitled 'Insights on the Bradgate Mental Health Unit. A copy of the presentation slides is filed with these minutes along with the Healthwatch Leicestershire report.

For this item the Committee welcomed to the meeting Helen Thompson, LPT Divisional Director for Families, Young People and Children’s Services, Dr Fabida Noushad, Deputy Clinical Director for Adult Mental Health Services, and Dr Saquib Muhammad, Consultant Psychiatrist.

As part of the presentation the following points were highlighted:

(i)        All new staff at LPT were required to sign a pledge which explained the conduct LPT expected from staff and what staff could expect from LPT as an employer.

(ii)       LPT was working on a document pack for patients at the Bradgate Unit which could be used to welcome them to the ward.  LPT was also constructing a new public facing website regarding the Unit.

(iii)      LPT was considering expansion of the Involvement Centre including redeveloping the cafeteria.

(iv)      It was acknowledged that there were issues with the estate at the Bradgate Unit particularly as the Care Quality Commission had recommended that all rooms should have ensuite bathrooms. Consideration was being given to refurbishing the existing wards or whether to build new wards, and an outline business case was expected to be ready by July 2018. National support was also being sought for capital funding. The policy of central government was to move away from dormitory accommodation therefore LPT was cautiously optimistic that the capital funding would become available.

(v)       There were still issues with the workforce specifically relating to recruitment and 30% of the qualified nurse roles were vacant. However, more than 20 apprentices had recently begun employment with LPT and the Trust was able to rely on well trained bank staff to ensure that all shifts were covered safely.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(vi)      In response to a question from a member regarding patients feeling unsafe in the Bradgate Unit, particularly perceiving a threat from other patients, it was explained that the wards were busier than they used to be and LPT accepted that the ward environment was not conducive to every patient’s needs. Reassurance was given that each patient was clinically assessed according to their needs on arrival and the clinical assessment process continued throughout their stay to ensure a patient was on the most appropriate ward. Wards were separated by gender and some wards were specially designed to be a low stimulus environment so that sensitive patients were more able to cope with their surroundings. Restraints were used if necessary. Patients would be moved wards if their clinical assessment changed. Each patient had a named nurse that they could discuss concerns with.

(vii)    There were community mental health services in place which enabled patients to be treated earlier so that their health would not have deteriorated as much by the time they were admitted to hospital. In connection with this members were made aware of an initiative called ‘Are you ok?’ where the general public were stopped in the streets and asked about their mental health and referred to the Samaritans if necessary. Members asked for further information on this and it was noted that a report on suicide prevention would be presented to the Committee later in the year.

(viii)   In response to a question from a member regarding gaining feedback on patient experience, it was explained that there were learning forums within the Trust, and senior doctors surveyed a random sample of patients about the services the Bradgate Unit provided. Additionally morbidity and mortality meetings took place, and staff shared their views with each other. It was agreed that further documents regarding the learning process would be circulated to Members after the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the actions taken by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust in response to the Healthwatch Leicestershire Report on the Bradgate Unit be noted.