Staff suspended after ‘sleeping in patient’s bed’

The regulator inspected acute wards for adults and psychiatric intensive care units at Black Country Healthcare Foundation Trust in February, after safeguarding concerns were raised.

As HSJ revealed earlier this year, inspectors investigated a series of incidents, while a referral was also made to the police. As well as reports of staff using a mental health inpatient’s bed, there were complaints involving alleged inappropriate sexual behaviour and a governance breach. The concerns were said to relate to Hallam Street hospital in West Bromwich and Penn Hospital in Wolverhampton. 

Following the CQC’s unannounced inspection, the overall rating for the adult and PICU units fell from “good” to “requires improvement”. However, the trust remains “good” overall.

The CQC inspection report said it inspected the service following allegations that “abuse had occurred” and a “multi-agency safeguarding meeting was convened to discuss the investigations of these”.

“The trust took appropriate action in response to these concerns and suspended the staff involved. The investigation was ongoing at time of inspection,” it added.

Although inspectors found a “strong and supported workforce” they said ward staff did not work well together as a multidisciplinary team, nor with community teams, and some wards did not have enough occupational therapists or other staff, so escorted leave and activities were cancelled.

Particular concerns were raised about the safety of wards at Hallam Street Hospital, as it is an old estate and some blind spots were found.

CQC Midlands director of operations Andy Brand said care plans were also not updated or reviewed, which impacted on their care.

“However, we did also see some positive areas of care. For example, people told us staff were very caring and always treated them with respect. Relatives said staff were helpful and kept them updated regularly on their family member,” Mr Brand added.

Marsha Foster, chief executive of BCHFT, said: “We acknowledge that there are areas where we need to improve and have already begun working diligently to address these issues. Our adult inpatient services, in particular, have experienced a number of challenges over the past six months, and we continue to work closely with the CQC and partners to implement the improvements that have been identified.”

West Midlands police said their investigation concluded with no criminal offences found.