Children harmed by mental health service failings
Young people cared for by an NHS mental health service "came to harm" because of its failings, inspectors said.
The care provided by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) has been rated "inadequate" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It has now been stopped from admitting new patients after inspectors found "serious concerns" in the children and adolescent mental health services.
EPUT said it had increased staffing levels and had been coaching staff.
The inspection was prompted by a serious incident and concerning information received about safety and quality, the CQC said.
Inspectors visited, unannounced, in May and June and looked at the Larkwood and Longview wards at the St Aubyn Centre in Colchester and the Poplar Adolescent Unit at Rochford Hospital.
The CQC found observations were not always carried out safely and patients "had been harmed as a result of the poor practices", which included patients self-harming.
It said these incidents were not always reported or dealt with appropriately.
Source: BBC News, 15 September 2021