Mental health trusts are facing serious safety concerns, with all but three of those rated by the Care Quality Commission before July needing to improve on safety, the regulator has found.
Today’s State of Care report shows that of the 47 mental health acute trusts inspected by the CQC before July 2016, four were rated as inadequate and 40 as requires improvement for the key question “are services safe?”
The regulator found that acute mental health wards and psychiatric intensive care units were the most dangerous, with 18 per cent rated inadequate for safety, and a further 62 per cent requiring improvement.
The report singled out poor “physical environments” as “frequently” contributing to safety concerns.
David Behan, the CQC’s chief executive, told HSJ: “One of the big issues is about the presence of ligature points in the physical environment where people are attempting suicide, or indeed in one or two cases people have committed suicide.”
Full story in the HSJ 13 October 2016