- SERVICE PROVIDER
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
Report from 1 October 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Wards for older people with mental health problems
Our view of the service
Overall Service Commentary Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust was registered with CQC in April 2010 to deliver the regulated activities: Personal Care, Treatment of Disease,Disorder or Injury, Assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and Diagnostic and Screening procedures. The service had a controlled drugs accountable officer and a Nominated Individual. We carried out an unannounced on site assessment visiting all 9 wards for older people with mental health problems at Cumbria Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust on the 16, 17 and 18 June 2025. We gathered information from patients and their loved ones, staff and managers, other stakeholders and our own observations of care. We reviewed a range of documents including care records, policies and procedures. We looked at all quality statements. We visited the following sites: Monkwearmouth Hospital - Sunderland Carleton Clinic - Carlisle Campus for Ageing and Vitality - Newcastle upon Tyne St George's Park Morpeth The assessment was planned due to an aged rating as well as some emerging risks highlighted by our data which included information about falls where people had come to harm. The wards for older people with mental health problems were last inspected in 2018 and were rated good at that time with an outstanding in the caring domain. We rated the service as requires improvement, with safe and well rated requires improvement and effective, caring and responsive as good. There were 3 breaches of regulation in relation to safe care and treatment, staffing and governance. Staff did not always assess risks to people's health and safety or mitigate them where identified. Oversight of ligatures was managed via several different documents, none of which instructed staff on how to safely manage the environment and where there were hot spots. Staff were not provided with the training and supervision required for their role.Referrals for a SOAD were not always completed in-line with recommendations stated in the MHA Code of Practice, with some referrals only being sent on the day the 3 month treatment rule expired. Furthermore, leaders did not ensure there was adequate oversight of the issues mentioned above, despite audits being carried out, and environmental issues had not been rectified despite staff raising concerns for some time. However, patient and carer feedback about care was positive, there were enough staff to ensure people’s safety and meet their needs. People were supported to have choice and control and could give feedback on their care. Action we have taken We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment. Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients (Regulation 12) Ensure sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons are deployed to meet the fundamental standards of care and treatment(Regulation 18) Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care (Regulation 17)
People's experience of this service
During our on site assessment, we spoke with 21 patients and 11 carers. We received positive feedback about the service in terms of the care the patients received. We received positive comments from patient and carers, some of which are detailed below.
“the Team work together, they exude friendship, compassion and …they’re very knowledgeable”
“It’s an assessment unit but I wish he could stay there”
“dad is actively involved in his own care and medication changes”
“the attitude of the staff is “very sensitive but really clear and open, especially the psychiatrist”
“it’s always clean, staff are very attentive, there’s always plenty of staff, yes”
One family member we spoke to, who’s relative had received end of life care on the ward told us“they made a big difference to me, I will always be grateful to them”.
Whilst observing patient care on all the wards we visited, staff attitudes and behaviours when interacting with patients showed that they were discreet, respectful and responsive, providing patients with help, emotional support and advice at the time they needed it.
We looked at some recent feedback, which was very positive with 76 out of 77 positive responses.