Watchdog's review praises teen mental health units

A pair of care units for teenagers with severe mental health issues in Yorkshire have been praised by inspectors.

Mill Lodge, in York, and Red Kite View in the Armley area of Leeds, have been collectively rated 'good' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which visited both sites in October last year.

The CQC said the teenagers at the centres, both of which are run by the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, were "positive" about the service they were given and said "young people told us they felt safe on the wards".

Nichola Sanderson, director of nursing and professions at the trust, said the organisation was "delighted" with the result.

"This is positive news for the children and young people in our care who require inpatient mental health support and reflects our continued focus on delivering high quality, safe services," she added.

The CQC said the "service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity".

Mill Lodge, which opened in 2015 in the Huntington area of York, has 10 beds for adolescents in need of intensive help.

Red Kite View opened in early 2022 and has a 16-bed general unit as well as a six-bed psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Inspectors reported that activities at both sites "helped promote a healthy lifestyle, for example young people could access the gym and take part in other sports activities".

They added: "Staff communicated with young people so that they understood their care and treatment, including finding effective ways to communicate with young people with communication difficulties."

The service was told to make improvements to its medicines management, which the report described as "inadequate".

Inspectors said there were "ongoing issues" at Red Kite View "with staff not recording temperatures daily to ensure medicines were being kept in the correct environment".

However, the report also said medicines were stored securely at both sites and stock was kept maintained at "appropriate levels".

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