THE trust running Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital has been rated good overall by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust (SFT), formed by the merger of Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, was assessed on:

acute wards for working age adults and psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU);

community end-of-life care services;

specialist community mental health services for children and young people.

The inspectors' report concluded that specialist community mental health services for children and young people has improved from requires improvement to outstanding for responsive and caring, and good for safe, well-led and effective.

PICU retained its rating of good overall and good rating for being effective, caring responsive and well-led and requires improvement for being safe.

Community end of life care services remained good overall and for being effective, caring, responsive and well-led. Safe has improved from requires improvement to good.

Overall, the trust has been rated as good with effective, responsive and well-led also good. Safe was requires improvement and caring was outstanding.

Deanna Westwood, CQC director of operations - South Network, said: “It’s a remarkable achievement to merge trusts at the beginning of a national pandemic and yet Somerset NHS Foundation Trust have continued to maintain the good quality of service that we had come to expect from both Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.

“During a period where children and adolescent mental health services are more needed than ever, the trust had adapted new ways to work with schools and other agencies to provide early support which in turn helped reduce waiting lists for those needed urgent support.

“This inspection found that the trust was well-led, but the leadership team acknowledged there is still further work to be do. I’m confident that the leadership team will be able to implement the further improvements required but also sustain those changes already made.”

Inspectors found:

Staff treated people with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity and understood people’s individual needs.

Ahead of the forthcoming merger with Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the director of pharmacy had developed a pharmacy transformation programme to move towards integration of all pharmacy services across Somerset and to improve collaboration.

The CAMHS teams had implemented strategies to decrease waiting times.

In community end of life care staff understood the emotional and social impact a person’s care, treatment or condition had on their wellbeing and on those close to them.

However, inspectors also found in acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units, there were potential ligature anchor points, but action plans were not developed on how to lower risks.

Peter Lewis, chief executive of Somerset FT and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The CQC team assessed our acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care unit, specialist community mental health services for children and young people and community end of life care services of this trust and considered how “well-led” the organisation is.

“The trust’s overall rating remains good. We are rated outstanding for caring, good for effectiveness, responsiveness and the well-led domain, and requires improvement for safety. The CQC has rated our community mental health services for children and young people (CAMHS) as outstanding and our community end of life services and our acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care unit as good overall.

“The CQC inspection team found outstanding practice which it highlights in the report and includes the CAMHS team’s work and approach to eliminating waiting times for the service and the work of community end of life team to consider the specific needs of patient groups and better meet their needs.

Inspectors noted:

The trust has a clear vision and set of values that colleagues understand;

It has well-embedded clinical leadership;

The senior leadership team demonstrated a high level of awareness of priorities and challenges facing the trust and how these were being addressed;

Overall leaders had the skills and abilities to run the service, were visible and approachable for patients and colleagues and supported colleagues to develop their skills and take on more senior roles;

Leaders and colleagues actively and openly engage with patients, staff, equality groups, the public and local organisations to plan and manage services and collaborate with partner organisations to help improve services for patients.

Staff feel respected, supported and valued

Equality and diversity is promoted.

Staff are focussed on patients' needs.

Mr Lewis added: "The CQC inspection report also provides valuable insights about where we can improve, most notably at a trust-wide level by reviewing how we increase representation of black and minority ethnic colleagues in some areas and address the issues that black and minority ethnic colleagues report about bullying and harassment.

“Within the services that it inspected, the QCQ also highlighted issues for us to address which we are following up.

"We have taken immediate action to rectify the specific environmental issues within our mental health wards.

"We are also making wider improvements with the development of a new ward in Yeovil and the refurbishment of Rowan ward which cares for adults of working age who are experiencing an acute mental health problem."