The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have reported improvement in services provided by the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP) – but concerns remain about places of safety for those in mental health crisis. AWP provides mental health services across Wiltshire.
In December 2015 the CQC served AWP with a ‘Warning Notice’ mainly because of ‘significant concerns’ about their services in Bristol. The inspection in May this year found major improvements in community mental health services in Bristol.
But overall AWP is still rated as ‘Requires Improvement’. And a new ‘Warning Notice’ targets the provision of places of safety.
“Inspectors found that in some cases, vulnerable patients were detained in police cells because there were no beds available in the trust’s designated places of safety.”
“Patients were regularly waiting over twelve hours for a Mental Health Act assessment and then had to wait again for admission to a suitable ward. Inspectors had further concerns about the safety of the environments of some places of safety.”
This CQC report follows the recent case where a mental health patient from Corsham had to spend a night sleeping in the back of a police car with two constables guarding her – because no bed could be found for her anywhere within the county.
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