June 9, 2017 9.04 am This story is over 80 months old

Watchdog gives Lincolnshire mental health trust improved rating

Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT), which runs mental health and specialist services in the county, has achieved an overall grading of ‘Good’ in its most recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). CQC inspected the core services provided by Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust over five days in April 2017 and found a…

Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT), which runs mental health and specialist services in the county, has achieved an overall grading of ‘Good’ in its most recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

CQC inspected the core services provided by Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust over five days in April 2017 and found a number of improvements had taken place since it was last inspected.

The previous inspection, in December 2015, had resulted in the trust being rated as Requires Improvement.

A team of inspectors, rated the care provided by staff to be Good regarding whether services were safe, caring, responsive, well-led and Requires Improvement for whether services were effective.

CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (and lead for mental health), Dr Paul Lelliott, said: “Overall, we concluded that Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust now provides good care to the population that it serves.

“Throughout the trust we saw staff treating patients with kindness, dignity and respect. Staff were helpful and understanding and used kind, supportive language that patients understood.

“However, although there had been significant progress at the trust, it had not fully addressed all of our previous concerns and we have highlighted areas where the trust needs to make further improvements.

“This includes that all inpatients must have discharge and care plans to meet their needs and that staff have regular supervision and appraisals.”

Chief Executive of LPFT, Dr John Brewin said: “I am pleased that the work of all of our staff has been reflected in the trust moving from Requires Improvement to Good.

“We know there are areas that we need to focus on in order to enhance our services and provide effective care.”