Mental health wards in Newcastle deemed “not fit for purpose” have been in a poor state for a decade or more, councillors have complained.
Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) criticised conditions at the "dirty" and "noisy" wards at the Hadrian Clinic last month, saying that "nobody should have to access health and social care services in this state". The watchdog’s damning report found that the Fellside, Lamesley and Lowry wards at the facility, which is at the Campus for Ageing and Vitality (CAV) on the old Newcastle General Hospital site, had limited space, no private toilets in its bedrooms, and that staff did not always feel safe there at night.
The Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Trust, which runs the clinic, is planning to leave the premises next year and relocate it to a redeveloped Bamburgh Clinic at St Nicholas Hospital in Gosforth. But a CNTW boss has faced questions about why the Hadrian Clinic has remained in use, with city councillors having raised concerns about its conditions years ago.
Read More: North East mayor race hots up as Labour hopeful launches campaign with pledge to end unemployment
Lib Dem councillor Wendy Taylor, who chairs Newcastle City Council’s health scrutiny committee, said at a meeting on Thursday: “This committee visited those wards perhaps 10 years ago and they were not fit for purpose then. It's very disappointing that the move has not happened since then.”
CNTW chief operating officer Ramona Duguid replied that it had taken some time to get the funding in place to relocate the wards, but they are “on track” to move next spring. She added: “The outside space, the rooms, the ability to have much better facilities compared to what we have on the CAV site, which we recognise is not where we want to be… That is why we are investing the amount of capital we have in that move.”
Ms Duguid added that some improved security measures had been installed at the Hadrian Clinic, off Westgate Road, but that money had to be focused on the new facilities in Gosforth. She said: “In the meantime we have done some smaller things, recognising that we want to use people’s money well. There will be some additional things that we are not able to spend money on, given that we will be out in a few months.
“We are ongoing in terms of doing as much as we can in the ward environment to make it as best as we can. But ultimately we need to focus on getting the services moved, which we are on track to do.”
The CQC said it had carried out the focused inspection last December after receiving "concerns about the safety and quality of the service", in particular "in relation to two serious incidents and a whistleblowing enquiry". Inspectors also drew attention to the use of bank and agency staff and a lack of staff training "to help manage people's needs and keep them safe".
However, they also said that leaders understood the issues on the unit and were putting interim measures in place to support people and staff until the wards could be relocated.
Read Next:
- Tyne and Wear Metro reliability crisis: Services getting better after maintenance firm ordered to improve
- North East's crisis-hit bus network could still face 'significant' cuts, despite Government's £500m pledge
- Grainger Market evening hours still part of 'stunning' upgrade plans, despite flagship event relocating
- Some PCSOs saved from Northumbria Police budget cut axe as bosses scale back job loss plans
- Fears that Newcastle walk-in centre might never reopen as services 'creak' under staff shortage
