Mental health hospital ordered to improve or face 'enforcement' action

Mental health hospital where three young women died in less than two months is ordered to improve or face ‘enforcement’ action after inspectors find string of safety failures

• Cheadle Royal Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent, has been told it ‘requires improvement’
• Its child and adolescent wards also ‘inadequate’ following unannounced visit

A mental health nurse where three young women died in less than two months has been ordered to improve of face ‘enforcement’ action after inspectors found a string of safety failures.

Cheadle Royal Hospital, operated by the Priory Group, has been told it ‘requires improvement’ overall and its child and adolescent wards were ‘inadequate’ following an unannounced inspection from the Care Quality Commission watchdog.

Concerns were raised after the deaths of Desiree Fitzpatrick, 30, Lauren Bridges, 20, and Beth Matthews, 26, leading to the inspection in January earlier this year.

It comes after Inquest, a charity supporting bereaved families, identified 20 deaths within the last decade linked to concerns about patient care.

One of the cases included 23-year-old personal trainer Matthew Caseby, who stepped in front of a train after escaping from a Priory-run hospital in Birmingham. His inquest concluded with a finding of neglect in April last year.

Concerns were raised after the deaths of Desiree Fitzpatrick, 30, Lauren Bridges, 20, and Beth Matthews (pictured), 26, leading to the inspection in January earlier this year

Cheadle Royal Hospital, operated by the Priory Group, has been told it ‘requires improvement’ overall

In 11 of the 20 cases, a coroner had written a Prevention of Future Deaths report urging changes to care arrangements.

Cases highlighted by Inquest also included two deaths of Cheadle Royal Hospital patients in 2014.

The CQC inspection focused on three wards for children and young adults at the hospital.

Inspectors recommended 15 separate improvements after finding shortcomings in ‘safe care and treatment’, ‘premises and equipment’, ‘systems’ and ‘staffing’.

Their report said high levels of restraint were used and there was a lack of monitoring after tranquilisation or for side-effects from medication.

Alison Chilton, the CQC’s northern deputy director, said standards of care ‘were well below those people have a right to expect’.

She added: ‘If we’re not assured improvements have been made, we will not hesitate to use enforcement powers to keep people safe.’

Cheadle Royal, run by Priory Group subsidiary Affinity Healthcare Limited and previously rated ‘good’, is a 150-bed psychiatric hospital with 13 wards.

The mother of Lauren Bridges (pictured) said her daughter was ‘massively failed by the mental health system’

In further concerns, the CQC said young people and their families were not always involved when their concerns were investigated, and there was insufficient staff training, supervision and appraisals.

Discharge planning – among issues criticised after previous deaths of Priory patients – was ‘generic’ rather than tailor-made.

In Cheadle Royal’s favour, the CQC found it ‘provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the children and young people and in line with national guidance about best practice’, and staff ‘worked well together’.

In January, an inquest found mental health blogger Miss Matthews, from Cornwall, died of suicide contributed to by neglect when she ingested a poisonous substance ordered online on March 21, 2022.

Although she was not supposed to open her own post, the inquest found ‘inconsistencies’ in how staff implemented the policy and management admitted a care plan was not followed.

An inquest into the death of Miss Bridges, from Bournemouth, began three months ago but has been adjourned until later in the year.

Desiree Fitzpatrick, 30, died after being found unresponsive in her room last January 23

The former straight-A schoolgirl, who had autism, had spent four years detained at six different institutions and was found unresponsive at Cheadle Royal last February 24. She taken to another hospital but life support was removed the following day.

Meanwhile, Ms Fitzpatrick died after being found unresponsive in her room last January 23. She had been admitted days earlier due to risks of self-harm and for alcohol detoxification.

Although taking a number of medications from her GP, the 30-year-old was then prescribed additional drugs at the hospital.

After an inquest last November, Coroner Andrew Bridgeman found she choked in her sleep after receiving ‘inappropriate’ medication which had caused ‘significant sedation’.

Rebekah Cresswell (crt), chief executive of Priory Group, said: ‘We are disappointed with the CQC’s overall rating and have disputed the factual accuracy of many aspects of the report.

‘While we take the report very seriously and remain committed to addressing any issues raised, the misrepresentation of our service is unhelpful.’

She claimed the CQC had failed ‘to identify many positive aspects found by inspectors.’

Ms Creswell said praise from inspectors included wards being ‘safe, clean, well-equipped, well-furnished and fit for purpose’; patient incidents being ‘managed well’ and ‘supportive, kind, respectful and caring’ staff.

She added ‘almost £2m’ has been invested at Cheadle Royal and that 99 new staff have been recruited this year.

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