Fresh 'patient safety concerns' spark another inspection at under fire private hospital in Sheffield

The Care Quality Commission carried out a surprise inspection at Cygnet Hospital in Arbourthorne following a series of concerns.

The private hospital has been closely monitored for over a a year after claims a young patient was found with 'MRSA with open wounds'.

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Since their last official inspection, CQC officials said they were made aware of a 'number of incidents and safeguarding concerns' on the Haven and Peak View wards which gave them 'concerns about patient safety'.

The CQC said the information they received did not give 'sufficient assurance' to make sure patients were suitably protected from harm which prompted the surprise inspection.

Cygnet Hospital Sheffield is an independent mental health hospital that provides low secure and locked rehabilitation services for women, teenagers and children suffering mental health problems. The hospital has capacity to provide care for 55 patients across four wards.

Inspectors found the majority of staff on both wards were up to date with mandatory safeguarding training and were in the process of undertaking additional courses. Managers had introduced new measures to improve information sharing about incidents and any associated learning.

Patients with ongoing safeguarding concerns had safeguarding care plans in place. These were reviewed regularly but 'did not always contain details' of ongoing safeguarding incidents on the ward.

But CQC officials found the safeguarding tracker was 'incomplete in some areas' and 'did not coincide with incident data' recorded on the central tracker.

An investigation of a serious incident had 'exceeded' the provider’s own recommended timescales and some staff felt they 'did not get feedback or information' about other incidents at the hospital which may be relevant.

Nicky McLeod, chief operating officer at Cygnet Health Care said: "Following the CQC’s most recent focused inspection in December, the CQC maintained its rating at the Hospital and we have continued to implement a number of improvements based on their previous comments.

"The CQC’s most recent report notes improvements and that new management at the hospital is leading on these changes, which work towards our aim of providing the best possible quality of care.

"We are committed to acting on the recommendations made by the CQC to ensure our services meet the high standards that both we and the CQC require."