Cygnet Heathers

Updated 18 February 2022

Cygnet Heathers provides rehabilitation to men with acquired brain injury. The hospital has twenty beds. The hospital operates over two floors with communal areas and offices on the ground floor and patient bedrooms on the first floor.

The service is registered for the following regulated activities:

• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
• Assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the 1983 Act.

There is a registered manager for the service.

Patients entering the service have a diagnosis of recognised or suspected acquired brain injury, alcohol related brain injury, Korsakoff’s syndrome, Huntington’s disease, early onset dementia with rehabilitation potential and may have been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Patients may present with challenging behaviour, comorbid psychiatric disorders including forensic history or substance misuse, moderate to severe cognitive impairment, organic psychiatric disorder or organic personality change, dysphasia or other communication problems and abnormal movements or restricted mobility but will not typically be wheelchair dependent.

The service was last inspected 15 January 2019. At that time, it was rated good in all five key questions. There were no breaches of regulation identified.

What people who use the service say

Patients were very positive about staff, and they said staff treated them with respect, dignity and they felt safe living at Cygnet Heathers.

Relatives and carers we spoke with were positive about Cygnet Heathers and that patients were safe living there. They reported that staff supported patients with community visits and made sure they kept in touch with family even when they lived a long way away.

Updated 18 February 2022

• The service provided safe care. The hospital had enough nurses and doctors. Staff assessed and managed risk well. They minimised the use of restrictive practices, managed medicines safely and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
• Staff developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. They provided care and treatments suitable to the needs of the patients and in line with national guidance about best practice.
• The hospital team included or had access to a range of specialists required to meet the needs of patients in the hospital. Leaders ensured that staff received training, supervision and appraisal. The staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team and with those outside the hospital who would have a role in organising aftercare.
• Staff understood and discharged their roles and responsibilities under the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and understood the individual needs of patients. They actively involved patients and families and carers in care decisions.
• The service was well led, and the governance processes ensured that ward procedures ran smoothly.

Updated 18 February 2022

• The service provided safe care. The hospital had enough nurses and doctors. Staff assessed and managed risk well. They minimised the use of restrictive practices, managed medicines safely and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
• Staff developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. They provided care and treatments suitable to the needs of the patients and in line with national guidance about best practice.
• The hospital team included or had access to a range of specialists required to meet the needs of patients in the hospital. Leaders ensured that staff received training, supervision and appraisal. The staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team and with those outside the hospital who would have a role in organising aftercare.
• Staff understood and discharged their roles and responsibilities under the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and understood the individual needs of patients. They actively involved patients and families and carers in care decisions.
• The service was well led, and the governance processes ensured that ward procedures ran smoothly.