Acute wards in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s NHS Trust need improvement

A CQC report on wards at Fulbourn Hospital and the Cavell Center has been released

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found critical wards in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust need improvement.

Despite the issues presented in today’s report, the overall outlook for the Trust remains positive.

The watchdog visited wards at Fulbourn House in Cambridge, and the Cavell Centre, Peterborough, in March this year, where inspectors found improvements recommended in their last inspection in 2022 had not yet been delivered.

Responding to the report, Hope’s Chief Nurse, Rachel Gomm, said it was “important to acknowledge the progress that has been made” but acknowledged “there is still work to be done”.

Employees do not report incidents of racial harassment

Inspectors found that some staff had been racially abused by people in their care, but refused to report this because they did not think it would bring about change.

The CQC says this is ‘unacceptable’ and says leaders need to ensure staff have a safe working environment.

Other audits found that care records were not kept up to date, and there were not always enough staff to meet people’s needs safely – but it was noted that The “recruitment campaign” continues.

Stuart Dunn, CQC’s deputy director of operations for the East of England, said:

“When we reviewed the trust’s strong wards, we found that the service had not made all the improvements we recommended in our last review in October 2022 to keep people safe. The service does not always share safety incident studies between different constituencies, and we found that study reports are not being updated accurately or quickly, putting people’s needs at risk.”

Good idea

The report from the watchdog goes on to say that leaders have ensured that staff at the center are familiar with the people they care for, and provide ‘people-centred care’.

Other findings from the report showed many people gave positive feedback about the service, particularly noting that ‘staff were friendly and felt involved in care decisions’.

It was also found that The Trust has made improvements to the ward’s environment to keep people safe, since the CQC completed the last inspection.

The wards were also kept clean and tidy.

“We are heading in the right direction”

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust recognized the importance of patient mental health care as just one aspect of their work and the latest review did not turn up a “good” rating.

Responding to the CQC’s findings, Rachel Gomm, interim Chief Nurse at the Trust, said:

“It is important to acknowledge the progress made since the last review by the Care Quality Commission. Our staff have worked very hard to improve the care and treatment available in our mental health facilities.

“Although we fully believe that there is still work to be done, it is my firm belief that we are heading in the right direction. The support we provide to patients and their families is invaluable, and we appreciate the many kind and supportive comments patients have made about their daily interactions with our staff.

“Psychiatric care is an important part of our organization’s work, and we provide mental health treatment for adults, mental health services for children, mental health care for community for older people and people with long-term conditions, children’s health services, education, disability services and basic research.

“Our overall CQC rating remains ‘good’.”

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