- SERVICE PROVIDER
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
Report from 8 May 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Wards for people with learning disabilities or autism
Our view of the service
We carried out an unannounced assessment of Cumbria, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust’s wards for people with a learning disability or autism on 16, 17, 18 July. Due to some of the concerns we found, we asked the trust to take some immediate actions to ensure the safety of people using the service. On 12 September 2024 we conducted a further site visit to check on the progress of improvements. During our assessment we visited the following locations: • Mitford Unit, Northgate Park, Northumberland - This unit provides care for adults who are on the autism spectrum, who have extremely complex needs and display challenging behaviours to the extent that their needs cannot be met by local assessment and treatment services. • Rose Lodge, Hebburn, South Tyneside - This unit provides treatment and an assessment for men and women with a learning disability who have mental health problems or challenging behaviour. • Edenwood, Carleton Clinic, Cumbria - This unit provides assessment and treatment for people with learning disabilities with additional mental health problems. • There were no people receiving care at Mitford Bungalows, so we did not visit this location. During our assessment, we identified significant concerns relating to the use of restrictive interventions, particularly on Mitford Unit. These concerns related to the use of prone and mechanical restraint, staff competency, governance and oversight. We identified the following breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2014: Regulation 12 – Safe care and treatment Regulation 13 – Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment Regulation 17 – Good governance Regulation 18 – Staffing We visited all 3 sites as part of the inspection. Whilst onsite, we also completed a SOFI and other observations. We gathered information from people who used the service, their family members and carers, staff and stakeholders, and reviewed a range of documents.
People's experience of this service
We spoke to 2 people who have used or currently use the service and 8 carers. We received mixed feedback; One family member told us they had no concerns about safety, however, another told us; "sometimes I think [Family Member] is not safe, I think staying there is making him worse.” Another told us, “Things have improved, there are less incidents now, less seclusion”. Another carer told us her family member was "quite happy" and "settled." Feedback regarding staffing was mixed. For example, a family member told she liked some of the staff but her relative didn't like any of them. One family member told us, “We have a good relationship with all the staff, I can’t fault them. Another told us, "There are [staff] shortages." At Rose Lodge, a family member told us they were short staffed but had recently recruited which had helped. People and their carers spoke positive about the management of medicines across all 3 units. At Rose Lodge, a family member told us their son had an emergency epilepsy protocol and the lead clinician was "great" and "very proactive". At Mitford Unit, a family member told us their relative receives psychotherapy once per week but "this is not enough." Carers expressed concerns regarding supporting their family members to live healthier lives and one person told us they felt their family member often appeared unkempt and in an undignified state. However, other carers spoke positively about the impact of work the staff team had done in terms of food choices and at Rose Lodge, a family member said staff were "respectful" and "try their best". Family members told us they had raised concerns and had mixed responses to these.