High-security hospital 'still needs to improve'
A high-security psychiatric prison is still in need in need of "urgent improvement" the healthcare watchdog has said.
Rampton Hospital, run by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) has been rated "requires improvement" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an unannounced inspection in March.
It was rated "inadequate" in January 2024 with the NHS trust under close scrutiny at the time over its care of Valdo Calocane, who carried out the Nottingham attacks in June 2023.
While the CQC found some "clear improvements" had been made at the hospital, it said the trust had work to do "to address staff shortages and support staff".
Rampton provides services to people who are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and are classified as having a learning disability, mental illness or psychopathic disorder.
The latest CQC visit of the site follows a series of inspections that began in June last year as part of a 12-month inspection programme the watchdog has carried out at the wider trust.
This was prompted by a special review into NHFT for which the final report was published in August last year.
During the latest inspection, staff reported incidents where the hospital wards were "not meting safe staffing levels" with therapies and activities "frequently cancelled" due to staffing shortages.
Managers told inspectors the wards "hardly ever" had the right number, experience and gender of staff to keep patients and staff safe.
Between 1 March 2024 and 27 February 2025 staff submitted 777 incident forms where the reasons stated were "clinically unsafe staffing", the report said.
Sometimes staff were working alone at night, leaving them unable to take breaks and some unhappy they were regularly moved from their ward to support others.
Managers told inspectors lone working left staff feeling "anxious, isolated and unsafe".
In the report, released on Friday, the CQC said it had found four breaches of regulation during its latest inspection, related to safe care, safeguarding, privacy and dignity, premises and equipment and safe staffing.
The watchdog said it had asked the trust to submit a plan showing what action it was taking to address the concerns but added it had provided assurances around staffing concerns.
Leaders at the trust showed it had measures in place to to minimise lone working and that the service was in the middle of a large recruitment drive.
The CQC added staff at Rampton respected people's privacy and dignity, were responsive to people's needs, provided help, emotional advice and advice when they needed it and worked well with partner organisations.
Greg Rielly, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: "We have told leaders at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust where urgent improvements are needed.
"The service needs to build on the positive areas in our report and focus on making the service safer for people."
In April, the BBC revealed the trust announced plans to withdraw from a contract to provide healthcare to prison inmates at seven jails across the East Midlands and an immigration centre.
Dr Susan Elcock, executive medical director and deputy chief executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said the service was pleased the CQC reflected on improvements it had made.
She added: "We welcome inspections as they are an important way to understand how we are doing and highlight areas where we can do better.
"Where the CQC told us we needed to take urgent action, we immediately took steps to address the issues raised.
"The CQC noted among the improvements those relating to physical health support and described care plans as personalised and truly reflecting patients' needs.
"Whilst we recognise we still have a way to go, I would like to thank colleagues for their work to date.
"We are absolutely committed to making further improvements to ensure our services consistently provide excellent, safe care and will continue working closely with the CQC, our colleagues, our patients and their families to achieve this."
Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.
Troubled NHS trust to quit prison health contract
Secure hospital is improving, report says
Inspectors take action against psychiatric hospital
Care Quality Commission (CQC)
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Falls and medicine breaches reported at care home
Concerns over "unwitnessed falls" and unsafe medicine management were raised by inspectors at a Surrey care home. A report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) - which has since been removed from the website - said there had been a "breach of legal regulations" in relation to medicines at the Kings Lodge care home in Camberley. A CQC spokesperson confirmed the report had been taken down as "factual accuracy points" were being checked and the home's overall rating, based on a 2021 report, is listed as "good". Aura Care Living Ltd, which runs the home, said it "more accurately reflects the high standards of care provided by our dedicated team, and the positive experience" of residents. The CQC spokesperson said the body was checking all factual accuracy points from the provider had been addressed and would publish an updated report shortly. A spokesperson for Aura Care Living Ltd, which runs the home, said at the time the report was published they had "fully taken on board" its comments. Inspectors in the removed report rated the home as "requires improvement" overall and particularly in the areas of safety and leadership. They rated it "good" for being effective, caring and responsive. "Overall, people were cared for by staff who were kind and caring and knew them well," they said. Inspectors also said the home was developed to meet people's needs, including those living with dementia. While some relatives told inspectors they thought there were not enough staff, another said: "I can't speak more highly of the Kings Lodge staff. They are all so kind." The Aura Care spokesperson said management and staff at the home were "deeply disappointed" by the publication of the report and believed the rating given did not "reflect the lived experience and positive feedback" of residents and families. They added: "The management team have already addressed the concerns raised in the inspection report and are looking forward to CQC inspecting them again." They said they were pleased the CQC had "acknowledged an internal IT error that affected the publication of their recent inspection report for King's Lodge. "As a result of this error, the CQC has now redacted the report and reinstated our previous 'Overall Good' rating on their website. "We remain fully committed to continuous improvement and maintaining the quality of care that our residents and their families rightly expect and deserve. Anyone with questions is encouraged to contact the home directly—we are always happy to have an open conversation about the care we provide and the values we uphold." Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Regulator confirms action taken against care homes Care provider has registration cancelled by CQC Adult social care rated good by watchdog Aura Care Living Ltd
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
High-security hospital 'still needs to improve'
A high-security psychiatric prison is still in need in need of "urgent improvement" the healthcare watchdog has said. Rampton Hospital, run by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) has been rated "requires improvement" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an unannounced inspection in March. It was rated "inadequate" in January 2024 with the NHS trust under close scrutiny at the time over its care of Valdo Calocane, who carried out the Nottingham attacks in June 2023. While the CQC found some "clear improvements" had been made at the hospital, it said the trust had work to do "to address staff shortages and support staff". Rampton provides services to people who are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and are classified as having a learning disability, mental illness or psychopathic disorder. The latest CQC visit of the site follows a series of inspections that began in June last year as part of a 12-month inspection programme the watchdog has carried out at the wider trust. This was prompted by a special review into NHFT for which the final report was published in August last year. During the latest inspection, staff reported incidents where the hospital wards were "not meting safe staffing levels" with therapies and activities "frequently cancelled" due to staffing shortages. Managers told inspectors the wards "hardly ever" had the right number, experience and gender of staff to keep patients and staff safe. Between 1 March 2024 and 27 February 2025 staff submitted 777 incident forms where the reasons stated were "clinically unsafe staffing", the report said. Sometimes staff were working alone at night, leaving them unable to take breaks and some unhappy they were regularly moved from their ward to support others. Managers told inspectors lone working left staff feeling "anxious, isolated and unsafe". In the report, released on Friday, the CQC said it had found four breaches of regulation during its latest inspection, related to safe care, safeguarding, privacy and dignity, premises and equipment and safe staffing. The watchdog said it had asked the trust to submit a plan showing what action it was taking to address the concerns but added it had provided assurances around staffing concerns. Leaders at the trust showed it had measures in place to to minimise lone working and that the service was in the middle of a large recruitment drive. The CQC added staff at Rampton respected people's privacy and dignity, were responsive to people's needs, provided help, emotional advice and advice when they needed it and worked well with partner organisations. Greg Rielly, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: "We have told leaders at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust where urgent improvements are needed. "The service needs to build on the positive areas in our report and focus on making the service safer for people." In April, the BBC revealed the trust announced plans to withdraw from a contract to provide healthcare to prison inmates at seven jails across the East Midlands and an immigration centre. Dr Susan Elcock, executive medical director and deputy chief executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said the service was pleased the CQC reflected on improvements it had made. She added: "We welcome inspections as they are an important way to understand how we are doing and highlight areas where we can do better. "Where the CQC told us we needed to take urgent action, we immediately took steps to address the issues raised. "The CQC noted among the improvements those relating to physical health support and described care plans as personalised and truly reflecting patients' needs. "Whilst we recognise we still have a way to go, I would like to thank colleagues for their work to date. "We are absolutely committed to making further improvements to ensure our services consistently provide excellent, safe care and will continue working closely with the CQC, our colleagues, our patients and their families to achieve this." Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Troubled NHS trust to quit prison health contract Secure hospital is improving, report says Inspectors take action against psychiatric hospital Care Quality Commission (CQC) Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
Petition to save Yeovil Maternity Unit from closure hits 4,000
A PETITION to save Yeovil Maternity Unit from closure has hit more than 4,000 signatures. The petition was set up by Nidal Singh on and nearly 1,200 signatures received in the first 15 hours. Read More: Read More: The closure of the Yeovil Maternity Unit and Special Care Baby Unit was decided by NHS Somerset Foundation Trust following a critical report from the Care Quality commission (CQC). The CQC found that maternity services were 'inadequate', with not enough sufficient training of all staff and a lack of emergency equipment to safely care for babies. In addition, the service 'did not always control infection risk well' and there were 'gaps in rotas' and not enough medical staff. Following the temporary closure decision, from Monday, May 19 at 5pm, the care of pregnant women and birthing people will be transferred to give birth at Musgrove Park Hospital, or the maternity units at Dorchester or Bath. Dr Melanie Iles, Chief Medical Officer for the trust, said: 'This is a very difficult decision that we have not taken lightly. We have made it after careful consideration, and a clinical assessment of those services, in discussion with NHS partners. I want to personally say sorry to local people who are affected by these temporary closures.' NHS Somerset Foundation Trust has said it is 'working really hard to reopen after six months' but added that it recognises 'this will be challenging, and we must ensure that we can do so safely.' Outpatient clinics for pregnant mothers such as obstetric and midwifery antenatal clinics, scanning, antenatal screening services and home births will continue at Yeovil Hospital as normal. People with any concerns or questions can contact NHS Somerset on a dedicated helpline by calling 0300 303 6409 - available Monday to Friday, between 8am and 6pm.
