Published on: 16th January 2019
The Lincolnshire based mental health and learning disabilities trust was re-inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October last year and has been rated Outstanding for its leadership and management, and retained an overall rating of Good.
When the CQC last visited Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in April 2017, the Trust was praised for the progress it had made but there were a number of areas identified as requiring improvement. Since then the organisation continued to focus on the quality of its services and making continuous improvement everyone’s business.
The key highlights from the 2019 report ratings include:
Acute mental health wards for adults and community mental health services are now rated Good.
Mental health services for people with a learning disability or autism are now rated Outstanding for well-led and Good overall.
Anne-Maria Newham, MBE, Interim Chief Executive, said:
I am extremely pleased that the hard work of all of our staff has been reflected in the CQC ratings and that all services inspected in 2018 moved from Requires Improvement to Good. Our staff have a real focus on providing high quality care for our patients and this latest report is testament to that commitment.
I am particularly proud of our Outstanding well-led result. We have gone from strength to strength since our original inspection in 2015 when we were rated Requires Improvement overall, Good in 2017 and now Outstanding for well-led and Good overall. There is a great deal we can be proud of in this report but we are not complacent and will continue to work to improve our services for patients, concentrating on the areas highlighted by the CQC.
I also wish to put on record my thanks to our staff, service users, volunteers and carers who help us by sharing their views on an ongoing basis, including giving their feedback to the CQC during the inspection. These views and support are crucial to us so that we can continue to improve the services we provide.
During the recent visit the CQC found areas of outstanding practice which included:
Significant improvements in core services and impressive ongoing improvements to the quality of care across the Trust as a whole.
Significant decrease in numbers of patients who receive their care outside of Lincolnshire, and since the Hartsholme Centre opened in July 2017 no male patients have been placed out of county for psychiatric intensive care.
Staff and leaders demonstrated a culture of putting patients first and working together. The inspectors noted a true sense of involvement from staff, patients and carers towards driving sustainable improvements across all areas.
Engagement with both staff and patients was evident and fundamental to the way the Trust makes decisions about changes and managing of services. Peer support workers, experts by experience and clinical apprentices are not only valued in teams but they are an integral part.
Leadership had been invested in at all levels so that staff have the right skills, behaviours, knowledge and experience to challenge if necessary while delivering quality care.
Staff reported that they could approach the ward managers, who would make time to speak with them.
The records of service users’ care and treatment were recovery orientated and reflected their views and goals.
When interacting with service users staff were respectful and responsive and they protected service users’ privacy and dignity.
Paul Devlin, LPFT Chair said:
The report clearly showed that our exemplary commitment to equality and diversity made a huge difference to staff who report they are proud to work for the Trust and to service users who receive good quality compassionate care. I feel privileged to be the chair of LPFT and see the progress we’ve made which has been recognised in our Outstanding rating for well-led.
I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make it a possibility.
The CQC has also raised some minor points that the Trust is already working on including reviewing caseloads at community mental health teams, ongoing support for autistic spectrum disorders and minor estate issues.
The full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission website: www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RP7
