Specialist mental health unit failures exposed by patients

There are serious concerns over the standards of specialist care being provided to patients with the most complex mental health needs, a BBC investigation has found.

Patients sent by the NHS to stay in mental health rehabilitation units say they have been placed in unsafe environments, often far from home, with untrained staff.

Experts say not enough is being done to regulate the sector, which costs the NHS half a billion pounds a year.

The units, run by both NHS and independent providers, treat at least 3,500 patients each year considered too challenging for standard hospital settings.

They aim to offer a specialised approach, enabling patients to recover with skills to manage their conditions and re-enter the community. But some have remained there for 10 or more years, the BBC's File on 4 programme has found.

By 2019, Lissa had spent years struggling with her mental health, having experienced traumatic life events. She was diagnosed with mixed personality disorder and depression.

So when the NHS sent her to a unit in Coventry run by Cygnet Health Care for a specialist talking therapy, she agreed.

The hospital, however, was in special measures. There had been two deaths in the previous 20 months. In both cases there was found to be a failure to follow the patient's care plan and carry out observations correctly.

Lissa, then aged 35, questioned why she was being sent there, but was "desperate" for help.

She says staff failed to treat her with dignity and respect. Her mental health deteriorated and after two weeks she was detained under the Mental Health Act for her own protection. She tried to take her own life 32 times within her first six months there.

Lissa says one of the toughest elements was the use of physical restraint, and she still suffers flashbacks.

Personality disorder specialist Keir Harding, founder of Beam Consultancy, says such environments "recreate a lot of the trauma [patients] have lived through".

At other times, Lissa was placed on one-to-one observations, where patients are constantly watched to ensure they don't cause themselves serious harm.

But she says on several occasions staff fell asleep. "I could have done anything."

Cygnet Health Care said it always aims to promote a culture that s recovery, and uses restraint "only as a last resort".

Lissa's NHS team, Coventry and Warwickshire CCG, said it worked closely with commissioners, the regulator and NHS England to ensure patients were placed in safe and effective care.

The system in England is regulated by the Care Quality Commission, (CQC). Some rehabilitation wards haven't been inspected for four or more years.

John Chacksfield, who was a CQC inspector until late 2020, says greater scrutiny is needed.

"Sometimes the private sector provides really excellent service, but there are certain units that really do need regular inspections just to make sure staff are being trained enough, or are having enough clinical supervision. It does worry me," he says.

There are also concerns the CQC is failing to sufficiently examine the claims of wards that promote themselves as a specialist service.

"Anna," who worked at a "centre of excellence" for patients with personality and eating disorders says she does not think anyone adequately assessed their specialism.

She said there was a "complete lack of a training programme" around caring for the specific needs of the patient group, that there was a reliance on agency staff, and that most of the personnel ing didn't have an understanding of the patients.

The CQC said it continuously monitors services using a range of intelligence, while inspections "check that services are providing a range of care and treatment interventions".

Cygnet Health Care - which ran Anna's unit - said at that time it had recently opened and was dealing with early challenges, adding that safe staffing levels were always maintained and improvements had been made.

Emma from Derbyshire was 30 when she went to a specialist service run by the charity St Andrew's Healthcare.

She says it failed to meet its promises as a ward for patients with eating and personality disorders, and was without a dietician.

"I was asking questions about my meal plan and staff were like, 'I don't know, we've not trained on this'. I didn't feel safe."

She complained to the CQC and the unit was placed in special measures following an inspection.

The ward in Northampton was also 85 miles (137km) away from Emma's home.

It was a difficult time at home. "My mum had a terminal diagnosis. I kept saying, 'How can I concentrate when I know my mum is literally dying at home and I can't see her":[]}