• The service had agreed referral pathways and procedures in place. Waiting times to access the service were short. Integrated care and joint assessments with allied health professionals were in place. The Ainslie Unit was clean, hygienic and well maintained. There were robust arrangements in place to store, manage and administer medicines. Care and treatment records were fit for purpose, appropriately stored and readily accessible to staff. Patient consent to treatment was obtained and appropriately recorded. Patients and carers were asked to feedback on the service provided using a friends and family test (FFT), however take up of this in some months was very low.

• Safe staffing levels were maintained on the unit. Staff were supported to complete mandatory training and had their performance regularly appraised. Incidents were appropriately reported and investigated and learning from incidents was shared. Appropriate procedures to safeguard patients were in place.

• A range of best practice guidelines to support the care and treatment of patients were in use. Audits were regularly completed to monitor the outcomes of care and treatment patients received. Patients received caring, compassionate treatment and were involved in making decisions about their care. Care and treatment was delivered in ways that maintained and promoted patients dignity and respect. However, some physiotherapy exercises were taking place in the public lounge, which could compromise patient’s privacy and dignity.

• The trusts vision and values were known to and promoted by staff and underpinned the care and treatment delivered on the unit. There was clear leadership of the unit at a local level and corporate level. Appropriate governance, risk management and quality improvement measures were in place. Several examples of new and emerging innovative practice were observed during the inspection.

People’s needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. However, the provider my wish to note that care plans for personal hygiene and continence were generic and did not always reflect the individual's preferences. Eight out of the 13 people we spoke to were aware of having a named nurse. Comments were: “The nurses are very kind.” “My nurse comes and talks to me when she is on duty.”

People expressed their views and were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. People told us that the staff always explained to them what was happening. Most people we spoke to were aware of their discharge dates or what they were waiting to achieve before they could be discharged.

People were happy with the treatment they received from staff who cared for them. Staff told us they were able to express any concerns they had with their manager and felt supported by their line manager and matron. They were aware of the safeguarding policy but were not always aware of the whistle blowing policy.

There were systems in place to manage the risks identified by quality audits. This included an action plan which was on schedule to be completed within the indicated timescales. However, people’s personal records including medical records were not always fit for purpose.