Southleigh Community Independent Hospital

Updated 26 December 2022

Southleigh Community Independent Hospital is part of the Inmind Hospital Healthcare Group.

Southleigh Community Independent Hospital provides care, treatment and rehabilitation for people with severe and enduring mental health problems. The service offers community rehabilitation for up to 27 male and female patients with complex needs with an overall aim of moving most patients on to supported accommodation. At the time of the inspection the service was looking after 2 patients with a learning disability and patients who had comorbidities and complex physical and mental health needs.

The service consists of a ward over three floors and 6 semi-independent flats. The service receives referrals from NHS organisations inside and outside of London. There is a registered manager in place.

Southleigh Community Independent Hospital is registered to provide:

• assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983

• diagnostic and screening procedures; and

• treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The service has a registered manager. There have been two previous inspections at the service since 2015. The last inspection was in May 2019. At that inspection the service was rated as good.

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services which have had a recent Direct Monitoring Approach (DMA) assessment where no further action was needed to seek assurance about this decision and to identify learning about the DMA process.

What people who use the service say

We spoke with 8 patients to gather feedback about the service. Patients told us they were listened to and felt safe. All patients reported that they were involved in their care and had access to activities within the service and the community. They told us they were supported to maintain contact with family members.

Patients said staff treated them well and behaved kindly. One patient told us “It’s one of the best places I’ve been to. They really care about patients”. Another described the staff as being “very good and understanding my needs”.

We spoke with 4 family members or carers. Three of the 4 spoke very positively about the service. Three carers reported that staff communicated very well with them. One carer told us that they were not always kept updated and communication could be improved. All carers reported that their family member was safe and well looked after. They told us they were involved in meetings, tribunals and discussions about discharge. Comments included “they [staff] are amazing, very caring and I have nothing but praise for them”. “This is the best that my relative has been, they have been to other places and this is far the best”.

Updated 26 December 2022

Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as good because:

• Patients told us they felt safe. The ward environments were safe and clean. The wards had enough nurses and doctors. Staff assessed and managed risk well. They minimised the use of restrictive practices, managed medicines safely and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
• Staff developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. They provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the patients cared for in a mental health rehabilitation ward and in line with national guidance about best practice. Staff engaged in clinical audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.
• The multidisciplinary team included or had access to a range of specialists required to meet the needs of patients. Managers ensured that these staff received training, supervision and appraisal. The staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team and with those outside the ward who would have a role in providing aftercare.
• Staff understood and discharged their roles and responsibilities under the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and understood the individual needs of patients. They actively involved patients and families and carers in care decisions.
• Staff planned and managed discharge well and liaised well with services that would provide aftercare. As a result, discharge was rarely delayed for other than a clinical reason.
• The service worked to a recognised model of mental health rehabilitation.

However,

• NEWS2 charts were not being completed correctly and there were gaps in recording. There was no system in place for auditing the charts.
• Cleaning records for the clinic room did not show when physical health equipment had been cleaned.
• There were a high number of nursing and support vacancies that were covered by bank and agency staff.
• There were some gaps in the provision of the specialist training that all staff needed to work with the current patient group, for example, on topics such as epilepsy and diabetes. Records of emergency scenario simulation training were not available.
• The service did not always escalate concerns to clinical governance meetings and the risk register.

Updated 26 December 2022

Please see overall summary.