Cygnet Hospital Stevenage

Updated 11 January 2024

Cygnet Hospital Stevenage is part of the Cygnet Health Care group which offers a range of services for individuals with mental health needs and learning disabilities. Cygnet Hospital Stevenage opened in May 2006 and consists of 6 wards. We carried out this assessment in February 2024 as we had received information giving us concerns about the safety and quality of the forensic wards. During this assessment we looked at the 3 forensic wards and undertook a site visit on 6 February 2024. Peplau Ward – Men’s Medium Secure 14 bed ward Saunders Ward – Men’s Low Secure 15 bed ward Tiffany Ward – Women’s Low Secure 15 bed ward. The last comprehensive inspection of Cygnet Hospital Stevenage took place in June 2021. At that inspection, the provider received an overall rating of good. Safe was rated as requires improvement as some of the areas of the hospital were visibly unclean and the hospital had vacancies for support staff. We found improvements in both of these areas at this inspection. The service provided safe care. The ward environments were safe and clean. The wards had enough staff and ward teams had access to the full range of specialists to meet the needs of patients. Staff minimised the use of restrictive practices and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding. Staff completed thorough risk assessments of wards and individualised risk assessments with patients and updated these regularly and/ or when risk presentation changed. Managers ensured that these staff received training, supervision and appraisal, celebrated staff successes and had developed strategies to boost staff wellbeing and reduce instances of racist abuse towards staff and patients. Feedback from patients and carers about the service was overwhelmingly positive. Patients told us they felt safe and that staff were caring and treated them with kindness and respect.

Updated 11 January 2024

We spoke with12 patients during the site visit carried out on 6 February 2024. Ten patients told us that they felt safe on the ward and that staff were caring and kind. One patient told us that they found it difficult to trust staff and 2 patients said they did not always feel safe because of other patients distressed behaviour. Two patients told us they had witnessed instances of racist abuse from other patients at the hospital, however, the hospital had implemented a quality improvement action plan to address this and had reduced the number of incidents. Patients we spoke with told us they could speak with staff if they had any concerns. Patients told us the food was of good quality – 1 patient said it could be improved. All the patients we spoke with said the ward was clean and well-maintained and there was a wide variety of activities on offer including occupational therapy activities and psychological therapy groups. A sports hall including two gyms, a quiet room and well-equipped music room were available on site. One patient told us that they had formerly been a patient at several different hospitals and Cygnet Stevenage was their favourite. Another patient told us they felt that staff ‘go the extra mile all the time’ We spoke with 5 carers or family members of patients. All the carers we spoke with were positive about their experience of Cygnet Stevenage and felt their loved ones were receiving good care. One carer told us that all of the permanent staff were 'excellent'. One carer told us they were not told when their loved one was hospitalised with a physical health condition in a timely manner, however, they felt comfortable to raise this with the hospital and this was resolved satisfactorily by managers.