Mental health hospital has 'sufficient staff to be safe'

A council meeting has been told a mental health provider has "sufficient clinical staffing to be safe", according to the trust due to take over the running of it.

Earlier this month, councillors on the adult social care, health and communities overview and scrutiny committee at West Northamptonshire Council received an update on St Andrew's Hospital.

In July, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust agreed to take over care at the site from mid-September.

David Williams, group director of strategy and partnerships, said: "We have looked at all of the staffing numbers [and] the model of care.. and we are currently happy that there are sufficient clinical staff to be safe on day one."

"It might be over time we look at how that develops and changes, but for a step-in we do believe and have looked at 'can we provide safe care on day one' and we do believe we can."

NHS England ordered the removal of all 287 inpatients from a hospital run by St Andrew's Healthcare in Northampton over safety concerns earlier this year.

Williams told the councillors that the trust expected to have about 160 patients and about 1,700 staff when they take over services in mid-September.

In July, the trust said patients would remain on the Northampton site, with services expected to be delivered from William Wake House and Fitzroy House.

The decision to withdraw patients from St Andrew's followed enforcement action taken against the hospital, announced in December.

In March, NHS England said: "We still do not have adequate assurance that patient safety is improving at the rate it needs to and our concerns about patient safety remain."

It added: "We therefore must act now to ensure patients receive the care and treatment they deserve."

It added that "unacceptable issues" had been identified at the hospital.

A report by the Care Quality Commission described how its inspectors saw CCTV footage of staff kicking and hitting a patient during a restraint as their colleagues watched on.

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