Nightingale Hospital

Staff knew and understood the provider’s vision and values and how they applied to the work of their team. Staff described strong teamwork, and regular management and clinical supervision and support. Leaders were visible at the service, and ensured there was a shared vision and strategy that staff understood and supported. The service had a risk register, and staff and leaders ensured any risks to delivering the strategy, were understood, and had an action plan to address them. Staff and patients spoke very highly of the ward manager who had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform her role. The ward manager was clear about the wards’ strengths and areas for development. Staff spoke positively about the leadership provided by the hospital director and senior leadership team and said that they were visible and approachable at the service. Staff described good workforce morale at the time of the inspection and felt that the culture was inclusive and supportive. At the previous inspection in June 2022, we found that improvements were needed in governance systems and processes in place to assess, monitor and drive improvements in the quality and safety of services provided. This included addressing shortfalls in risk management, and discharge planning, and patients’ concerns about variable staff treatment on the ward. At the current inspection we found that there were clear and effective governance, management, and accountability arrangements. Managers acted on information about risk, performance, and outcomes, and shared this with the staff team to bring about improvements. The service had a schedule of audits for each year including audits for different departments such as wards, therapy teams, mental health act and health and safety. Audits were completed by a charge nurse and discussed in team meetings where improvements needed were discussed. There was a daily meeting held at the hospital during which each ward lead met to check occupancy, staffing numbers, including additional staff available to assist across the hospital, and safety roles. Staff at the hospital completed quality performance information on a weekly basis, which was monitored to ensure the quality of care provided. There was also a quality improvement plan for the hospital, with current priorities including regular quality walk arounds by senior management to monitor the quality and compliance around all hospital units and out of hour visits. The ward had been successful in gaining accreditation with the Quality Network for Eating Disorders.