‘I'd like to thank every single one of our colleagues in these services for their incredible dedication’

Healthcare inspectors have rated acute inpatient wards and psychiatric intensive care units at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust as outstanding.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited the trust’s inpatient mental health care at Berrywood Hospital in Northampton and St Mary’s Hospital in Kettering, in July.

Both hospitals have acute mental health wards and provide psychiatric intensive care services for those aged 18 to 65.

Inspectors praised the service’s strong leadership and care plans along with the hard work of staff.

As well as the overall score of outstanding - which is the highest possible rating - the scores in effectiveness and well-led categories were ‘outstanding’ and ratings for safety, caring, and responsiveness were ‘good’.

Gemma Berry, CQC deputy director of Mental Health in the Midlands, said: “We found a strong leadership who created an exceptional culture of learning, openness, and continuous improvement, which led to better results for people using the service.

“People and carers we spoke to were overwhelmingly positive about the care they received, describing staff as kind, supportive, and professional.

“Care plans were comprehensive and consistently person-centred. Staff were proactive and constantly adapting to people’s needs.

“Staff and leaders should be proud of the level of care they are providing to people at a very vulnerable time in their lives. The findings of this report are testament to the impact of their hard work.”

Inspectors say they found the trust was innovative in several areas, including managing self-harm risk and supporting those with complex physical needs to remain within the service.

Staff had also developed environments to reduce distress for neurodivergent patients and provided sensory rooms and equipment like weighted blankets. They also supported physical health and worked to identify early health risks.

Anne Rackham, group chief integration and delivery officer for NHFT, said: “This outstanding rating is a fantastic achievement for the brilliant teams at our adult acute inpatient and psychiatric intensive care units. They truly embody our trust's commitment to delivering safe, compassionate and responsive care that's built around the needs of our service users – and to making a difference, together, every day.

“It is particularly pleasing to see that inspectors identified the leadership and culture on the units for particular praise, as well as highlighting how our teams are continually innovating, improving and involving service users in their care.

“I'd like to thank every single one of our colleagues in these services for their incredible dedication, professionalism and hard work to make this possible.”

The trust has three adult inpatient wards at Berrywood Hospital, and three at St Mary's Hospital’s Welland Centre. They provide specialist care for people whose mental health needs and risks mean they cannot safely receive treatment at home.

Each hospital also has a psychiatric intensive care unit for people whose mental health problems need intensive treatment and a stable environment for recovery.