The health and social care regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is asking for evidence from local voluntary and community groups about the quality and safety of care of mental health patients in Wiltshire.
The Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP) which is commissioned to provide services for Wiltshire, will be one of the first Trusts to be inspected under the CQC’s new, tougher regime.
This will put greater emphasis on inspecting the care that people with mental health problems receive in the community as well as services for people who are admitted to hospital for assessment or treatment.
The CQC has announced that it will begin a formal inspection of AWP on June 6 with a team of 70 people including clinical experts and people who have experience of using mental health services.
Over the course of a week, the inspection team will visit every hospital ward managed by the trust in Bristol, Bath, Devizes, Swindon, Salisbury and Weston super Mare, as well as many of the Trust’s 152 community services.
The CQC’s Chief Inspector, Professor Sir Mike Richards, explained the call for evidence: “Of course we will be talking to doctors and nurses, managers and people who use services in hospitals and in the community.”
“But it is vital that we also hear the views of the people who have had experience of the care provided by the Avon and Wiltshire Partnership, or anyone who wants to share information with us, to help us plan our inspection, and so focus on those things that really matter to people who depend on this service.
“This is your opportunity to tell me and my team what you think, and to make a difference to the NHS services in this area”
Views and evidence can be sent to the CQC online or by email (enquiries@cqc.org.uk) or by letter (CQC, Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4PA) or by telephone ( 03000 61 61 61.)
In 2012 AWP which serves a huge area of the south-west, was criticised as being “centralist, top down, target driven, bureaucratic and controlling”. With a new chairman and chief executive AWP have completely reorganised their services basing them on local areas.
As MNO reported, in June last year independent inspectors said AWP was “unrecognisable” – in a positive way – and applauded the changes being made.
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