THE MENTAL health trust that provides services to people in South Gloucestershire has been told that it must take ‘significant steps’ to improve its service.

Following an inspection carried out in June by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) a number of issues were raised for the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP) to act on.

The CQC issued for warning notices that required the trust to take urgent action to improve.

The report, published by England’s chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said that staff were kind and caring but raised a number of areas for improvement.

The CQC inspectors spent four days meeting patients and staff at the trust and inspected 39 wards and 27 community services as well as other specialist services across the region.

The inspection team had a number of concerns about safety; particularly on the mental health admission wards and forensic mental health wards where the design of some wards made it difficult for staff to observe vulnerable patients.

These problems were compounded by significant staff shortages on some wards that the inspectors concluded may have affected patients’ care and safety.

There were also times when beds were not available which meant that people were sometimes moved from one ward to another or discharged early.

The report says that the trust ’had failed to assess and monitor the quality of its services’ and had not made necessary changes following previous inspections.

It also says that the trust had not taken “prompt and appropriate” action to manage risks identified by serious incidents and concerns, or respond to staff concerns.

However, inspectors also identified a number of areas of good practice, including the later life mental health liaison service for Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

The report also praised the trust’s ADHD team which had significantly reduced waiting times and the STEPS eating disorder unit which has been publishing research on a national scale and is based at Southmead hospital.

Dr Paul Lelliott, deputy chief inspector of hospitals, said: "Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership has room for improvement in many areas. It is a big trust – with an important job to do. Many thousands of people depend on its services.

“People we met during our inspection were mainly positive about the staff and felt they made a positive impact on their experience on the wards.

“Frontline staff showed us that they wanted to provide high quality care, despite the challenges of staffing levels and some poor ward environments.

“We found that the board and senior management have a clear vision with strategic objectives. The onus is on them now to make the urgent improvements we require - and then to sustain that improvement in the long term."

Following the CQC inspection the trust must now provide a plan which outlines how it will address each issue that was identified.

A spokesman for the trust said: “While we are disappointed by some aspects of this report, we are pleased that the inspection team recognised the kind, caring and responsive approach of our staff and noted their high skills in the delivery of care.

“We have already taken action in South Glos to address a number of issues that both we and the CQC identified as falling below the standard people would expect of us.

“They include improvements in the way we identify and resolve ligature risks, improvements to our pharmacy areas, and better ways for our staff to learn from incidents and complaints.

“Access to local beds due to national bed pressures is an ongoing concern that is the subject of continued work between ourselves and our commissioners.”