Central and North West London (CNWL) foundation trust is facing in investigation from Monitor after worries were raised about the care of mental health patients.
Last month the Care Quality Commission (CQC) issued warning notices about the care of residents at a nursing home.
Although the trust has since put improvement plans in place, the service was failing to meet all eight standards checked.
Central and North West London (CNWL) foundation trust is facing in investigation from Monitor after worries were raised about the care of mental health patients.
Last month the Care Quality Commission (CQC) issued warning notices about the care of residents at a nursing home.
Although the trust has since put improvement plans in place, the service was failing to meet all eight standards checked.
The trust was issued with warnings for the care and welfare of people, safety and suitability of premises, and assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision.
At an unannounced inspection, the CQC found that:
– The provider had failed to respond appropriately to an allegation of abuse.
– Care delivered was not appropriately recorded or reviewed, and care arrangements focused on the delivery of personal interventions as opposed to recovery and wellbeing.
– Half the clinical staff had not been trained to restrain people appropriately and safely. This put people at risk of harm. Strategies to de-escalate potentially violent situations were inadequate.
– While the provider had implemented systems to improve the service, these were not sufficiently robust to protect people from the risk of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment.
Monitor’s investigation will look into whether the concerns raised by CQC indicate wider problems with how the trust is run.
CNWL is one of the largest mental health foundation trusts in England, and provides a range of services to communities across London and Milton Keynes on 150 sites.
Monitor will examine whether the trust has robust and effective systems in place for identifying and rectifying any problems with the quality of care.
No decision has been taken about whether further regulatory action is required and an announcement about the outcome of the investigation will be made in due course.
Victoria Woodhatch, senior regional manager at Monitor, said: "We have decided to open an investigation at the Trust to identify if there are any problems with the way the trust is run that would prevent it providing high quality care for patients.
"Our investigation will take a very close look at the issues highlighted by the CQC; and we will take regulatory action if required."
Matthew Trainer, regional director of CQC in London, said: “Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust has been failing to meet the required standard in these services for some time.
“People are entitled to be treated and cared for in services which are safe, effective, caring, well run, and responsive to their needs. We will return to both the Campbell Centre and Beatrice Place shortly to check whether the required improvements have been made and whether we need to take further action – and will report further in due course.”
