CQC alarm over mental health services at hospital

Mental health services at a community hospital in Wolverhampton are failing to comply with basic standards, the Care Quality Commission has warned.

Mental health services at a community hospital in Wolverhampton are failing to comply with basic standards, the Care Quality Commission has warned.

A CQC report revealed non-compliance in all 10 of the essential standards of safety and quality examined at Penn Hospital, run by Wolverhampton Primary Care Trust.

“Our overall judgment is that we have a major concern with the hospital’s quality and safety of care,” the CQC’s report stated.

The hospital’s assessment and monitoring of service provision was deemed a major concern, while moderate concern was expressed over respect for service users, consent to care, care and welfare of users, staffing, support workers and record keeping.

However, formal enforcement action is not being taken with the CQC saying that it has confidence that the hospital’s current management team could deliver the improvements required.

CQC inspectors will return to the trust to monitor performance and to decide whether to take further action.

Andrea Gordon, CQC West Midlands regional director, said: “We have confidence in the current management team at the hospital to deliver the improvements required, and we shall be watching to ensure that they do.

“We note that similar concerns have been raised before – and now they must be addressed as a priority.”

Jon Crockett, chief executive of the PCT, expressed disappointment with the CQC’s assessment.

“We want to reassure local people that the CQC want to work with us to ensure services are improved and comply with their new registration standards,” he said.

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