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Kentmere Ward Westmorland General Hospital hange P C ro -X d F u D c t P
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w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw About Kentmere Ward
The Kentmere Unit is a 12 bedded inpatient unit on the first floor of Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal.
10 beds are commissioned for short term recovery based care for acute adult mental health patients and 2 beds are provided for the management of patients undergoing an alcohol detoxification programme. hange P C ro -X d F u D c t P
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w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw Current Status
The decision to temporarily close the Kentmere Unit at Westmorland General Hospital has been delayed.
This is pending a fuller assessment of the urgency of the quality and safety concerns.
The delay is because of: • concerns expressed by service users, carers, and the community • The Trust’s desire to be absolutely clear that it has explored every possible option to meet the minimum standards without the need for temporary closure.
The ward remains open and is accepting referrals as usual.
Our priority is to provide high quality, safe mental health care services to the residents of South Lakeland. hange P C ro -X d F u D c t P
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w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw What are the issues? There are a number of quality & safety issues relating to the environment of the Kentmere Unit which do not meet national standards in privacy and dignity and access to outside space.
The ward is mixed sex and the rooms are dormitory style with shared bathrooms. Beds are partitioned with boards and just a curtain for privacy. hange P C ro -X d F u D c t P
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What are the issues? Lack of access to outside space: The unit has no dedicated outside space, and service users must be accompanied by a member of staff through the main hospital to access outside spaces. hange P C ro -X d F u D c t P
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w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw What are the issues? Suitability of the Section 136 suite & risk assessments hange P C ro -X d F u D c t P
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w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw Our staff We are proud of our staff and the outstanding care they provide and were recently praised by the Care Quality Commission for being caring. In February the team were awarded ‘the Full Monty’ from Star Wards.
“The Kentmere ward at the Westmorland General Hospital has been awarded the Full Monty award from the organisation Star Wards. Star Wards is an organisation that aims to inspire those staff working in a mental health setting to develop new activities that aid in promoting recovery for patients.” hange P C ro -X d F u D c t P
w w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw Our patients
Since 1st April 2013, there have been a total of 357 patients admitted to the Kentmere Unit.
The highest proportion of patients admitted were from the 51 – 65 age group which has been consistently high on a year by year basis.
Average length of stay on the unit is 21 days hange P C ro -X d F u D c t P
w w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw What prompted the urgent decision
• National & regulatory standards
• Improved quality governance
• Increased propensity of patient population to self harm hange P C ro -X d F u D c t P
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w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw Why have we delayed the decision?
Our recent communications have caused anxiety and concern, and we are sorry for any confusion or worry that people have felt.
Taking on board the feedback we want to be absolutely clear that we have explored every possible option to meet the minimum standards without the need for temporary closure.
Therefore agreed to delay the decision while we have further discussions with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for complete clarity in what is necessary to meet minimum regulatory standards.
We are engaging with our staff and the community to develop an interim model of care, in the event that a temporary closure cannot be avoided. hange P C ro -X d F u D c t P
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w m w Click to buy NOW! o . .c tr e ac ar ker-softw What are we doing now?
• Healthwatch have provided an online survey, which ended on Friday 8th July.
• They also facilitated a drop in session on Thursday 30th June so that we could listen to the views of the community. The results of this work will be fed back to our Trust Board at the end of July
• We have met with key stakeholders including MPs , partner and third sector organisations.
• Staff have been kept informed on a regular basis and involved in looking at the options for an interim service model.
• We are keeping our stakeholders informed via regular press releases, a dedicated page on our website and by working with the media. hange P C ro -X d F u D c t P
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w m w o Click to buy NOW! c .t . ra re ck wa er-soft What happens next
• The Trust, and our partners, will make a decision later in July about whether or not a temporary closure is necessary.
• The Trust will ensure that the Cumbria County Council Health and Scrutiny Committee are fully briefed following this and before any actions are taken.
• The longer term future of mental health inpatient care will be considered as part of a Countywide public consultation led by NHS Cumbria CCG later this year.