Cygnet Hospital Taunton provides specialist inpatient services for older adults with mental health problems and for men diagnosed with a learning disability. The hospital also provides an acute inpatient admissions service for men over the age of 18.
The latest inspection was a comprehensive inspection on 30-31st March assessing all five key lines of enquiry across all five wards. Following the inspection the service was rated ‘Good’ across all five domains.
In addition each of the three service lines at the hospital was given its own rating. The acute mental health services on Peacocks Ward, Sycamore 1 and Sycamore 2 and the Older Adults service on Swift Ward were rated ‘Good’ across all five domains.
The hospital’s learning disability service, Redwood Ward, came in for particular praise and was rated as an ‘Outstanding’ caring service. The report highlights the ward’s use of a wide range of communication methods to support service users to communicate effectively as outstanding practice.
The report also how highlighted how the team on Redwood Ward saw people as their equal and created a warm and inclusive atmosphere with service users receiving kind and compassionate care from staff who used positive, respectful language at a level people understood and responded well to.
The full report, published on the CQC website, highlights many other areas of positive practice across the hospital, including:
- Staff spoke positively about their roles and were passionate about the service developing.
- Staff attitudes and behaviours when interacting with service users showed that they were positive, calm, respectful and responsive to the needs of service users. Staff knew service users well and provided the right kind of support based on their individual needs.
- Service users described staff as approachable, polite, kind and helpful.
- Service users were involved in the planning and review of their own care and treatment, with an input in their care plans and risk assessments.
- The senior management team were visible and accessible to staff and service users. They demonstrated effective leadership skills, were role models, and had developed an inclusive culture.
- The design, layout, and furnishings of the acute wards supported service users’ treatment, privacy and dignity.
- The service minimised the use of restrictive practices such as the use of seclusion and restraint, managed medicines safely and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
Joshua Tapp, Hospital Manager, said, “I would like to thank all the staff for their hard work. To receive this kind of feedback over such a challenging period in healthcare is testaments to everyone’s resilience and passion for the care we provide. We are motivated to achieve outstanding next time around and are already setting out plans on how to maintain and improve our standards as a hospital.”