As part of our inspection on 31 October 2011 we spoke with people on Waveney Ward and Yare Ward.

People told us they were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. They also had opportunities to influence changes on the ward through regular community meetings.

People made positive comments about the care they received and about the staff. One person told us, "Staff listen to me on this ward and they understand my problems." A person we spoke with about restraint said that it was carried out safely and that staff knew what they were doing. More than one person mentioned that they thought the staff worked well together.

We were told that people felt protected by staff and they would listen to and act upon any complaints. However, one person told us they were unhappy because they said staff had not done enough to help them when their property was missing. We spoke with senior staff who took steps to address this.

We visited five wards and met with an access and assessment team and a community mental health team. This report relates only to those services we visited.

We spoke with 25 people who were using the service. They told us that staff were supportive and one person said, “I know who my key worker is. They are always happy to talk to me about my care.” Someone else said, “I understand my rights and the appeal process.” Another person said that, “The staff are supportive and l feel ready to go home now.”

The trust worked effectively with partners to support people to receive timely care and treatment that met their needs. However, we found that people did not always understand their rights and that their privacy, dignity and independence were not always respected. We found that considerable pressures affected some areas, particularly the community mental health teams and this had an effect on service delivery. For example, some people were admitted to hospital for longer than required, or placed on wards that provided care and treatment at a higher level than they required.

The trust had effective arrangements in place to identify and respond to safeguarding concerns. Staff received appropriate training to ensure that they reported such concerns as necessary.

People knew how to make a complaint and raise concerns and were supported to do so. Complaints were monitored to ensure that the trust investigated them and responded to people appropriately.