A health trust has had one of three conditions previously placed on it by the CQC lifted after it demonstrated that it has improved its system of ensuring patients’ detention papers are properly renewed under the Mental Health Act.
The detention papers of patients who are detained under the act must be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they are being treated in accordance with their rights and that the course of treatment they are being administered is suitable for their needs.
When a new registration system for detention papers was introduced on 1 April by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), West London Mental Health Trust was judged not to be meeting essential standards of safety and quality. It was registered on the understanding it improved on three essential standards of quality and safety.
However, the trust has now made important improvements to better protect the rights of patients detained under the act, according to the CQC. All records are now renewed within specific timescales and the treatment and care of patients is properly reviewed.
Colin Hough, CQC regional director for London, said: “West London Mental Health Trust has made progress in ensuring that the detention papers of patients detained under the Mental Health Act are properly reviewed. It is very important that the rights of this vulnerable group are protected and that proper systems are in place to ensure all patients are treated in accordance with the act.”
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