Cygnet Alders Clinic upgraded to ‘Good’ in latest CQC report

A Gloucester service which provides support to women with complex mental health needs is celebrating after its rating was upgraded to ‘Good’ following the latest inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

The regulator’s report on Cygnet Alders Clinic praised the high standard of care offered at the service and highlighted many areas of positive practice, saying service users were treated by “kind and compassionate staff.”

The service, on Podsmead Road, Gloucester is part of the Cygnet Health Care division, and offers a 20 bed rehabilitation service that provides assessment, treatment and rehabilitation for women with personality disorder and complex needs.

The unannounced inspection looked at all five key lines of enquiry. Improvements were identified in the ‘Safe’ and ‘Well Led’ domains and as a result the service now has a good rating across all five domains.

The full report highlights many areas of positive practice, including how staff treated service users with compassion and kindness and respected service users’ privacy and dignity.

Alison Woods, Hospital Manager, said she was delighted with the outcome of the inspection.

She added: “This report reflects the continuous focus and hard work of the Alders Team to deliver increasingly high quality care to all of our service users. We couldn’t have achieved this fantastic success without teamwork and a shared commitment to excellence.

“The most pleasing aspect of the inspection report is the consistent references to staff who the inspectors described as compassionate, supportive and kind, respectful of service user’s privacy and dignity and who understand the individual needs of our service users. This is something that I recognise and see every day in my work at Cygnet Alders Clinic and I am incredibly proud of the Alders Team. It’s a pleasure to work with such a dedicated group of staff.

“We have been on a journey of improvement over the last seven months since I took up post and I very much look forward to carrying this journey on as there is more to be done to get us to Outstanding!”

The report read: “Care plans were personalised, holistic and recovery orientated. The patients’ voice had been included in respect of their views and wishes.

“Staff helped service users’ live healthier lives by supporting them to take part in programmes or giving advice. Staff from different disciplines worked together as a team to benefit service users. They supported each other to make sure service users had no gaps in their care.”

Inspectors also praised staff for supporting service users with activities outside the service, such as work, education, and family relationships. They said families and carers felt supported, informed and involved in the care of their loved one. Family members spoken with said they felt their relative was “receiving effective care” and felt that the 1:1 group psychology session were “very beneficial.”

The report added: “Staff carefully planned service users’ discharge and worked with care managers and coordinators to make sure this went well. The registered manager and clinical lead were visible and approachable for service users and staff and had an open-door policy for informal discussions, advice and support when required.”