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.
