Priory Hospital East Midlands

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• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

We saw staff treating patients as individuals, with dignity and respect. Patients had access to various activities. Staff had a holistic approach to patient assessment, care and treatment process. Medical support and equipment was available to allow the service to respond quickly to the needs of the patients. Staff were visible and available to patients supporting them to maintain their independence, choice and control. Staff had access to resources to support their wellbeing including a wellbeing forum.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Patients had access to various activities including yoga. All interactions we saw between staff and patients were kind and friendly. When staff were involved in a task and patients approached them, they explained that they were busy right there and then but would see them straight away, we saw this followed up.

Staff told us that they felt their practice of treating patients was with kindness.

We reviewed the most recent report written by the independent advocate assigned to the hospital. We saw examples of how the hospital listened to the advocate and implemented actions. The advocate sent a report to the service every 3 months consisting of a breakdown of issues or matters that had been raised. The report not only provided concerns and compliments it also reported positive compliments too.

We saw a yoga session taking place with a patient and being supported by an occupational therapy assistant. We saw engagement by the staff and interest as they were experiencing it with the patient. On Quartz ward, we saw a staff member sing along with a patient which appeared to please the patient. We saw interactions between a frustrated patient and reception staff which could have escalated however the staff remained calm and engaged the patient in a friendly and calm manner which deescalated the situation.

Patients told us that non-permanent staff did not always understand them as well as the permanent staff. However, patients told us that their needs were always met.

Management told us that the whole care and treatment that a patient receives treats them as individuals. When referrals are received, they look at the person to see if the service would fit their needs. They considered the patient’s current placement and all their needs including their preferred pronouns. Staff told us that they get the information about a person from their care plans and the patients themselves.

We saw a patient having her hair straightened on the ward, an engaging activity with staff from the same culture. We saw a handover and a ward round where we heard how staff supported patients to understand and manage their own care, treatment or condition.

We saw the main laundry room had a new process in place to ensure patient laundry was kept separate. This is an improvement since the last inspection where we found all patients laundry in one mixed pile. This showed that staff now saw the patients as individuals and treated their property with dignity.

Patients were involved in their ward rounds and were able to contribute to these.

Staff told us that they audited the risk items that were locked away from patients. Risk items were assessed individually, and they avoided blanket restrictions where possible. Staff told us that activities were based on what the patients had requested. We were told that patients liked Whinnie the Pooh, so they had a Whinnie the pooh event. They are also having a circus event in the summer following patient requests.

We saw a patient that was engaging in yoga on Sapphire ward was asked if they wanted to extend the session as they appeared to enjoy it. The staff gave the control to the patient about that decision. We saw staff asking patients rather than telling them to do things. We saw patients accessing the garden and section 17 leave.

We observed a ward round where the patient was able to understand their treatment and where their voice was heard and recorded within the minutes. Each ward had regular community meetings to record patient feedback. Patients were involved in patient safety meetings and forums.

Patients told us that their needs were met. They told us they were listened to and had experienced changes being made to their care plan when their needs changed. Patients told us that sometimes they didn’t get their updated care plans. However, we saw copies of patients care plans in their bedrooms and it was documented when they were offered copied regularly at ward round meetings.

Staff told us there are doctors available when needed. Management told us that they were converting one of the rooms in the offices to accommodate an in-house resident doctor who will be able to sleep at the hospital. All staff wore alarms and staff knew where to find ligature cutters on each ward.

A patient who had swallowed hair dye was seen by medics within 10 minutes and the medics acted quickly to decide on getting further treatment. Enough nurses were on shifts to respond to any emerging health situations. We saw staff engage in supporting 3 patients at different times to deescalate situations.

Daily flash meetings were in place. Each patient was discussed at this meeting and the discussions included discussions around risk and any incidents or noted concerns from the last 24 hours. Handovers from each shift included any emerging risk. We found on each patients care plan there was a panel at the front highlighting any risks that have changed, or that staff need to know about. This process allowed staff coming onto the shift have an immediate oversight of patient risks and needs.

Staff told us that there was a wellbeing forum and a champion and an employee of the month recognition scheme, which celebrated good work. Staff were able to have hot meals and food at £1 per meal. Staff told us and we saw staff going on regular breaks away from the ward. Managers offered de briefs after incidents and staff had regular supervision. Staff told us that there were progression opportunities, and one gave the reason for vacancies last year was that staff were moving up in the service to nurse preceptors.

The most recent colleague engagement survey reward and recognition was scored at 71% which was an increase of 23% from last year. Managers had regular team meetings. The service has a whistleblowing policy and procedure in place, and these were advertised on posters within the staff areas of the hospital. We found information boards in staff area about support for wellbeing and good mental health. New areas had been developed for staff to have breaks in.