INSPECTORS are set to visit Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust next week as part of radical new changes introduced by the Care Quality Commission.
The trust is one of the first five mental health trusts to be inspected under the new regime which CQC Chief Inspector, Professor Sir Mike Richards, announced in November.
A formal inspection by a team including clinical experts and people who have experience of using mental health services will start on Tuesday February 25.
The CQC wants to put a greater emphasis on inspecting the care that people with mental health problems receive in the community, while inspecting services for those admitted to hospital for assessment or treatment.
Sir Mike said: "The new inspections are designed to provide us with a clear picture of the quality of the services, exposing poor or mediocre care as well as highlighting those trusts providing good and excellent care.
"The needs of people with mental health problems run through all CQC’s work.
“We have recognised that we need to strengthen our approach to regulating specialist mental health services to ensure that people get care that is safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well led.”
Sir Mike’s inspection team will look in detail at services including acute admission wards for all age groups, psychiatric intensive care units and health-based places of safety, long stay forensic secure services, child and adolescent mental health services, services for older people including inpatient services and some community services, hospital and community services for people with learning disabilities or autism, adult community-based services including crisis services, and specialist eating disorder services.
A full report of the inspectors’ findings will be published later by the Care Quality Commission.
Anyone wishing to give their views to the inspection team ahead of their visit can contact them by emailing enquiries@cqc.org.uk or via website http://www.cqc.org.uk/contact-us or by calling 03000 61 61 61.
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