SUICIDAL patients at an east London hospital were left at risk of hanging themselves, an inspection has revealed.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), responsible for mental health services across Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Essex, as “requires improvement” in its latest report.

Released yesterday (September 27), England's Chief Inspector of Hospitals found that child and adolescent mental health wards at the Brookside unit of Goodmayes Hospital were “inadequate”.

The CQC report claims inspectors found potential ways vulnerable young people could try and hang themselves in the disabled toilet of the Willows ward at Brookside.

It also slammed NELFT for its staff shortages, haste to forcibly restrain young mental health patients and outdated search policy.

Shortly after the inspection was carried out in April, NELFT closed Brookside, but plans to reopen this month.

Out of the 14 areas assessed in the report, a further four “require improvement”.

These include NELFT’s acute wards for adults, psychiatric intensive care units, wards for older people with learning disabilities or autism, and community mental health services for children and adults. 

It found that two days before inspectors arrived, an elderly patient had fallen out of bed, but there was no alarm system in place for them to notify staff.

Inspectors were also concerned that the Mental Health Act had not been included in a number of staff’s basic training.

Redbridge Concern for Mental Health’s Jon Abrams said the CQC’s findings were “particularly alarming” with regards to its care of vulnerable children and young adults.

He said: “Overall it is very disappointing.

“The fact is we have to do a lot better at making effective help more accessible to children and young people in Redbridge.

“As the impact of childhood mental health problems can be far reaching, causing distress to patients and their families, as well as schools and wider society.”

Despite major concerns, nine of NELFT’s 14 assessment areas, including community mental health services for people with learning disabilities and older people, were given a “good” rating.

The trust’s chief executive John Brouder said: “We are disappointed to say the least, given the number of service areas that were rated as good and the amount of positive feedback in the report.

“But as an organisation that strives to deliver the best possible care to our patients and our belief in continuous improvement, we take on board the feedback from the CQC.

“We have already made significant improvements across the majority of areas highlighted in the report and where we have not yet made them we have action plans in place.”

The report praised the trust’s patient experience partner group and said the diabetes team at sites in Essex had introduced Skype appointments and text results to “meet the needs of the population more effectively”.

To see the full report, see the CQC website.

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