The Care Quality Commission

Archived: Assessment and Treatment Unit

Northern General Hospital, Herries Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S5 7AU (0114) 271 8807

Provided and run by:
Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust

Important: This service is now registered at a different address - see new profile

All Inspections

22, 23 November 2011

During a themed inspection looking at Learning Disability Services

There were five in-patients at the Assessment and Treatment Unit when we visited. All were voluntary patients. We spoke with three patients who could verbally communicate their views and wishes to us. Two other patients were not well enough to contribute their views to us.

Overall, patients told us they were happy with the way staff supported them. Patients and relatives told us they thought individuals were offered appropriate care, treatment and support from a dedicated team of staff.

One patient said staff offered them choices for example, they could choose which meals to prepare to stay healthy. The patient told us they then went shopping with staff to buy the food and staff supported them to prepare their meals.

Another patient told us they enjoyed taking part in activities including, table tennis and cookery. They said their favourite TV show was, 'Come dine with me', and they watched this regularly.

Patients told us they could take part in a range of other activities. For example, a patient told us they attended an individual art therapy session. Other patients told us they enjoyed playing bowling on an electronic game. Patients told us they attend a range of weekly groups. Including, Rainbow Group (patients' meeting), Fitness and Wellbeing group, and CHAT group (speech therapy group). Patients told us they were supported to attend external evening activity groups. For example, Gateway social club, is available twice a week, and every other month, Under the stars, a nightclub event, was available to patients.

Relatives said they and patients were able to contribute to individual person-centred plans, care plans and health action plans. Patients and relatives told us they were able to attend and participate in care plan and review meetings. Relatives told us how staff went, 'the extra mile', to ensure patients' needs were met.

8 November 2010 and 8 November 2011

During a routine inspection

It was not possible to gain the direct views of people who use the service on this occasion as the assessment was conducted remotely. However a range of information was obtained that demonstrated how the provider ensures people who use services are involved in decisions about services and how their views are obtained. Submissions from the Sheffield LiNK (local involvement network) demonstrated how the provider has worked with and involved LiNK participants in influencing the city wide strategy for improving mental health services in Sheffield. For example, the LiNK participants work on recovery wards had been fed back to managers and staff, leading to changes in care in respect of service users' sexuality, spirituality and problems with social interaction. The LiNK has been involved in the quality reporting process with the provider and stated 'we are pleased with how we have been engaged in this and we will possibly be doing some joint enter and view visits.' The provider included some views of people who use services who had fed back comments as part of its last complainants survey, for example, one comment stated, 'I like the face to face contact. I felt they understood our concerns and did their best to address them'.

A satisfaction questionnaire completed on the unit provided examples of what made people who use the service feel happy, for example, "Having a routine makes [me] happy also going out on the bus and for walks also having the support workers [make me] feel more comfortable '", "My support workers have been very supportive". The unit is currently undergoing a process of service reconfiguration and people who use the service have been consulted. Some views about these changes include, "It would be difficult to adapt an existing building to the specialist requirements of the service" and "A new building could be designed to meet existing and predicted future needs".