St Mary's Hospital

Updated 16 February 2024

St Mary's Hospital is based in Warrington it provides services for people with acute mental health needs and specialist services for people with acquired brain injury, autistic spectrum conditions or both. It is part of the Elysium Healthcare group, which also has other mental health hospitals across England.

At the time of our inspection there were 6 wards open within the hospital for male patients. The acute mental health inpatient services were provided on 2 of these wards;

• Eve ward a 4 bedded ward
• Leo ward a 12 bedded ward

The two wards were managed as one. They were managed by the same ward manager and had access to the same multi-disciplinary team. Patients on Eve ward could access the same facilities as patients staying on Leo ward and some spaces, such as the visiting room, were shared between the two wards.

Leo ward had previously been an inpatient ward supporting people with a learning disability and or autism. This service had closed in May 2023 and the ward had reopened as an acute mental health service in July 2023.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

What people who use the service say

We spoke with 2 patients using the service, one relative of a patient and an independent advocate.

Overall, the feedback we received about care that patients received was positive. Patients felt staff were supportive and respectful.

We observed respectful and caring interactions between patients and staff on the day of our inspection.

We reviewed results from a patient survey completed in May 2023. The results showed 90% of patients felt supported in their recovery and 100% either ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’, that they received high quality care that met their individual needs.

We reviewed meeting minutes that showed staff responding to patient’s feedback at weekly community meetings and through the patient forum. For example, where patients had said they felt the ward was too cool or didn’t like the food available, staff had responded by offering different meal options and providing portable heaters, where appropriate.

A concern was raised about delays in one patient’s discharge due to issues in the wider care system. We found examples where the staff had supported patients to raise concerns about their care to commissioners and other decision makers in the local care system.

Updated 16 February 2024

Our rating of this location improved. We rated it as good because:

• The ward environments were safe and clean. 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 a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the patients and in line with national guidance about best practice. Staff engaged in clinical audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.
• Staff developed and implemented good positive behaviour support plans to enable them to work with patients who displayed behaviour that staff found challenging.
• The ward teams included or had access to the full range of specialists required to meet the needs of patients on the wards. The ward staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team.
• 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.

However:

• Staff had not completed the necessary training required to carry out their roles.
• The hospital used a high amount of agency staff and this meant that staff and patients were sometimes not confident in their ability to carry out their roles effectively.
• Staff did not always have access to regular management supervision.

Updated 9 March 2023

Updated 24 December 2021

Updated 16 February 2024