Mental health patients now in care of NHS trust following safety concerns at Northampton hospital
Patients with complex mental health needs will continue to receive care in Northampton following the transfer of secure specialist services from St Andrew’s Healthcare to Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT).
The transfer, which was completed on Tuesday September 15, will see NHFT now formally taking responsibility for a number of specialist secure services previously provided by St Andrew's Healthcare in Northampton. The under-fire hospital is currently under investigation by police and charity regulators the Charity Commission after concerns were raised about potential mistreatment of patients at the site.
Part of the arrangement will include a ‘significant’ number of St Andrew’s 2,000 staff being transferred to NHFT.
St Andrew’s says no roles have been put at risk of redundancy since NHS England announced in March that inpatients should be moved from St Andrew’s care.
The trust say the takeover marks an important step in securing the future of specialist services for patients and communities.
The following medium and low secure services have transferred to NHFT:
- The Midlands’ male inpatient medium and low secure services
- The national secure male d/Deaf services
- The national secure male Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) services
Alongside these services, responsibility for a number of additional patients has also transferred to NHFT to ‘support safe continuity of care while suitable long-term arrangements are identified’.
Angela Hillery, Chief Executive of Northamptonshire Healthcare, said: “We are delighted to welcome our new colleagues, service users and carers in medium and low secure services to the Trust and look forward to working together.
"Our immediate focus has been on ensuring we are together and safe from day one, and we will now build on that foundation by continuing to improve and develop these important specialist services for people.
“I would like to thank our new colleagues, St Andrew's Healthcare and NHS England for their support throughout this transfer process. This transfer provides greater certainty for patients, carers and colleagues, helping to safeguard specialist care and retain valuable expertise and roles in Northampton.
“We are committed to listening, learning and providing compassionate, quality care for the people who will come under NHFT's care. We know that we are on an improvement journey, and with our new colleagues, service users and carers, we will work together to develop a positive future for these services which support some of the most vulnerable people in our community.”
To enable the transfer, several buildings have been leased by NHFT from St Andrew's Healthcare as part of long-term arrangement.
NHFT's medium and low secure services will be primarily based at William Wake House and Fitzroy House, with care also provided to some patients at neighbouring Smyth House and Kemsley House, all in Northampton.
NHFT continues to provide an established low secure service at Berrywood Hospital in Duston, Northampton.
However part of the transfer plan includes stopping services for female patients, of which there are currently 31 at the hospital. With the remaining 141 patients at the hospital being male, NHS England says providing separate services would be ‘unviable’. At the end of August, an NHS England spokeswoman said: “Alternative and suitable placements have been found for most of these women. There are 10 patients in the process of being discharged and others are being transferred to alternative placements as close to home as possible.
“Maintaining separate services long term at St Andrew’s for such a small number of female patients would not be viable. Especially given there is capacity elsewhere for these patients.”
Trevor Torrington, Chief Executive Officer of St Andrew’s Healthcare, said the transfer provides ‘certainty’ for patients who will continue to be cared for by specialist clinical teams led by NHFT.
Mr Torrington added: “I am also pleased that, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the teams at St Andrew’s and at NHFT, specialist care roles have been maintained in Northampton.”
As well as providing non-clinical support to NHFT in Northampton, the charity will continue to provide specialist mental healthcare services across the UK.
These services include: Inpatient services at its hospitals in Birmingham and Essex, adult care services in Northampton and Nottinghamshire, outpatient services and specialist research.
At the end of August it was revealed that some 100 staff at St Andrew’s had been moved from the hospital’s main iconic building.
While it was unable to reveal any future plans for the listed main building, a spokesman said it had not been condemned.
The main site was built as a hospital in 1838 and housed 100 patients, with the last patients moved from the building six years ago.
The Charity Commission is currently undertaking a statutory inquiry into the hospital to assess concerns about the oversight of safeguarding provision by the trustees of the charity, its financial viability and the wider governance, management and administration of the charity by its trustees.
After the inquiry concludes the regulator will publish a report revealing its outcome.