- SERVICE PROVIDER
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
We served a Section 29A warning notice on Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust on 1 November 2025 for failing to meet the regulations related to the governance of long term segregation environments at Rampton Hospital and Arnold Lodge.
We have published a rapid review of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and an assessment of progress made at Rampton Hospital since the most recent CQC inspection activity.
See older reports in alternative formats:
- Community mental health services with learning disabilities or autism, published 24 May 2019: Easy read report.
- Rampton Hospital, published 8 June 2018: British Sign Language video.
- Rampton Hospital, published 15 June 2017: British Sign Language video.
Report from 2 December 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Wards for older people with mental health problems
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 22 and 23 July 2025
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s wards for older people with mental health problems service consists of 4 wards across 2 locations including Highbury Hospital and Blossomwood Mental Health Unit. During this assessment, we carried out an onsite assessment of Cherry ward and Silver Birch ward at Highbury Hospital and Robin ward and Kingfisher ward at Blossomwood Mental Health Unit.
The service was last rated inadequate (March 2024). The report was published following CQC’s old inspection approach using key lines of enquiry (KLOEs), prompts and ratings characteristics. This assessment has been completed following the Care Quality Commission (CQC) new approach to assessment; Single Assessment Framework (SAF). This was an unannounced assessment, which means the provider was not told an assessment was going to be starting beforehand. During this assessment we looked at all quality statements across 1 key question: shared direction and culture, Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders, freedom to speak up, workforce equality, diversity and inclusion, governance, management and sustainability care, treatment and support. As we assessed all the quality statements for the key question of well led, the rating for this key question reflects the findings of this assessment. However, as we did not assess the quality statements from the key questions; Safe, Effective, Responsive and Caring we have used the ratings from the previous inspection to rate these key questions. During this assessment we found the service was now meeting concerns raised during our previous assessment in relation to leaders of the service having the rights skills, knowledge and experience to have oversight of care delivery.
People's experience of this service
During our assessment we visited all 4 wards for older people with mental health problems.
Patients that spoke to us told us that they felt staff were ‘good here, they talk to me, I get what I need’
A new patient on one of the wards told us ‘I feel safe here, the staff make me feel safe but the patients around me don’t make me feel safe’
We were able to speak to a patient who we had previously spoken to at our last assessment of the wards. During the previous assessment they told us about difficulties in accessing food to suit their dietary requirements. At this assessment they told us that the issues still remained, although the service had been able to offer them specialist food to make their lunch. The patient was frustrated and wanted to be able to have what they really wanted for their lunch and not to have to compromise with what may or may not be on offer.