Mental health services in Kent NHS Trust require "urgent improvements"
A Kent and Medway NHS trust has been told to urgently improve its mental health services after inspectors found care had fallen to unsafe standards.
A damning Care Quality Commission inspection found a decline in the quality of mental health care at Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, especially for adults in crisis and community mental health services.
The CQC inspected two of the trust’s services in March and raised serious concerns about patient safety and personalised care.
Inspectors found people were often detained beyond the legally permitted period and received treatment without the correct legal permissions.
"It meant people's rights under the Mental Health Act weren't always protected, and they were left feeling uncertain and vulnerable at a time of acute crisis when they most needed support and understanding" says Serena Coleman, CQC deputy director of operations in Kent.
Inspectors also found staff didn’t always have the right training, and care plans were often missing or out of date:
"We also saw staff weren't aware of the tools available to support people with specific communication needs, making it harder for them to be heard and involved in decisions about their own care.
"This communication barrier prevents genuine person-centred care and can leave people feeling isolated when they most need understanding" added Mrs Coleman.
Community mental health services for adults were rated as “requires improvement,” and crisis care was downgraded further after the inspection.
"In community-based mental health services for adults of working age, we found people didn't always have up-to-date risk assessments or person-centred crisis plans.
"Some people told us they weren't even aware they had a care plan."
"We've told the trust exactly where improvements are urgently needed and have received the action along with along with assurances on where work has been undertaken.
The CQC will closely monitor changes to make sure services get better for patients and carers.