Mental health hospital told its standards must improve

INSPECTORS' SAFETY CONCERNS

- GURDIP THANDI Local Democracy Reporter

A MENTAL health hospital in Walsall has been ordered to improve safety.

The Care Quality Commission rated Dorothy Pattison Hospital as 'requires improvement' following an unannounced inspection in May last year - but found pockets of improvements since its previous inspection.

Inspectors visited two wards at the hospital: Ambleside, which is a 21-bed female ward, and Langdale, which is a 21-bed male ward.

It was prompted by concerns raised with the CQC around management of the medical team and a poor culture where staff couldn't speak up, but these weren't substantiated during the inspection.

They did, however, find two other main areas of concern.

The hospital wasn’t a smoke-free site, with the garden areas having cigarette ends and litter. Inspectors noted the hospital plans to become a smoke-free site in the future.

Also, signs had been removed from doors during decorating and sharp edges were left exposed which risked causing injuries.