Community mental health services told to improve

Community-based mental health services for adults in Leicestershire have been rated as requires improvement following an inspection.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited eight sites run by the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT), which host community mental health teams, psychosis intervention and early recovery, assertive outreach, and medicines clinics.

While some improvement on previous concerns were noted, three new breaches of regulation were identified related to waiting times, caseload management, and management of the service, a report said.

The LPT said said action had been taken to cut waiting times, including appointing five new consultants.

Following May's inspection, a warning notice was issued to highlight the significant improvements needed to reduce waiting times for outpatient appointments, which averaged at 133 days.

Between April 2024 and March last year, waits for psychology support from community mental health teams averaged 351 days. In East Leicestershire, the average wait was 599 days, the report said.

More than 700 people had been waiting at least 12 months to be seen by the adult community mental health service, and staff had not carried out 2,149 follow-up appointments in the same timeframe.

The report said leaders had processes in place to identify risks, but these plans did not always address them in enough depth or with suitable timeframes to make improvements.

The trust was told to produce a plan showing what action it was taking in response to these concerns, and the CQC confirmed it had been submitted.

Previous concerns over medical equipment and making people aware of their rights had been addressed, inspectors found.

The sites visited during the inspection included Merlyn Vaz Health and Social Care Centre, Loughborough Hospital, Maidstone Centre, Orchard Resource Centre, OSL House, Melton Hospital, Hawthorn Centre and Braunstone Health and Social Care Centre.

Ceri Morris-Williams, deputy director of mental health in the Midlands for the CQC, said: "While it was encouraging to see the LPT had made improvements in some areas, our inspection team still had concerns about community mental health services in Leicestershire.

"Some people waited a long time to receive the outpatient appointments they needed, which could potentially have had negative effects on their mental health."

Despite the concerns, inspectors said many service users found staff were kind, supportive, and treated them with dignity and respect.

Angela Hillery, chief executive of LPT, added: "Whilst the overall rating has remained at requires improvement, I am encouraged that our ongoing improvements have been recognised with a good rating in three of the five domains that the CQC uses to make its assessment - safe, effective and caring - compared to two out of five when they last inspected adult community mental health services."

Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.