A regional mental health trust has been ordered to improve its leadership after patients reported concerns for their safety.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) reviewed services at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS Foundation Trust following reports from people using the service.
Inspectors made an unannounced inspection in June 2024 and also found breaches of regulation regarding staffing and governance, and some ineffective systems and processes.
The trust’s mental health crisis services and health-based places of safety received an overall rating of good, however, it has dropped from being rated good to requires improvement for being well-led.
TEWV said it has made significant progress since the inspection and is committed to improving its services.
Most people interviewed felt staff were kind, caring, respectful and interested in their wellbeing. The health watchdog said people had appropriate risk assessments in place which were regularly updated, and people and their carers had been involved in creating them.
TEWV provides mental health and learning disability services for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby. The trust’s overall rating wasn’t affected by the latest inspection and remains rated as requiring improvement.
TEWV has been ordered to submit an action plan outlining its actions in response to the concerns.
Leaders at the trust praised the work of staff in maintaining the safety of all patients.
Brent Kilmurray, TEWV chief executive, said: “We are pleased to have retained our ‘good’ rating for our crisis services. This is very much down to our committed and hardworking staff, working alongside our community partners, to provide mental health crisis support.
“Notably, people using the service said they felt safe and that staff were kind, caring and respectful. The report also highlighted that patients had appropriate risk assessments in place which were regularly updated and that they and their carers had been involved in creating them.
“This is against a national backdrop of increased demand for services and recruitment challenges across the NHS.
“We’ve already made significant progress since the inspection last June. The CQC report acknowledges that since then we had put in place robust plans to make the necessary improvements, particularly relating to issues around staffing and acuity. We are committed to learning and continuous improvement, and to providing safe and kind care to our communities.”
In 2023, the mental health trust was told that it had improved its services but must reform areas of its care to increase patient safety and better patient outcomes. Problems with the reporting and investigating of serious incidents and long waiting lists were raised by the CQC.
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Families of patients who lost their lives while under the care of the trust continued to plead with the government to hold a public inquiry. TEWV was fined £200,000 in 2024 after pleading guilty in connection with the deaths of two of their patients, Christie Harnett, 17, and an unnamed patient at their Middlesbrough hospitals.
The trust admitted that it failed to adequately assess patients' self-harm and suicide risk, or implement effective ways to reduce those risks.
For mental health support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
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