Iris and Taylor wards provided care and support to people who had acute mental health issues at the time of their admission. We visited the two wards on separate days, Iris first and then Taylor. We were accompanied during the visit to Iris ward by a Mental Health Act Commissioner [MHAC] and an Expert by Experience. A variety of negative concerns regarding their treatment and the staff members were raised by the patients in the ward. These included, “I only see the doctor in the meeting with loads of people there (ward Multi Disciplinary Team) “, “I asked to talk to a member of staff 4 days in a row but no one was available” and “They are always too busy.”

We were accompanied by an MHAC only during the second visit to Taylor ward. A third visit to the service to discuss the concerns that were raised following the inspection on Iris ward took place in between.

As mentioned above the comments received during the visit to Iris ward were generally negative. These are being addressed as a separate issue and CQC will monitor the outcome. The patients on Iris ward did make positive comments about some of the staff and they named those who they said went the extra mile and helped the patients as much as they could.

Due to their illness the patients we spoke with on Taylor ward were not able to comment on the care they were receiving to any great detail, comments included, “The staff are ok” or general comments such as “”The food is good.”