Mental health trust under threat from "damning" report.

The Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust has received a warning of notice due to “serious concerns” about its “places of safety services” by the Quality Care Commission.

Inspectors discovered patients were being placed into police cells and regularly waiting over 12 hours for assessments.

The trust has admitted there are “some areas” which need to improve. CQC visited the adult healthcare service provider in May to check on progress. This was after it found the trust was not “always safe, effective, responsive or well led”.

But the latest report describes the trust as “damning” by an inspector. The trust was criticised for using police cells as a place of safety and many people who had to wait “two or three days” for assessment.

People detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 can be held in a hospital or police station for up to 72 hours. But the Home Office is wanting that time to be reduced to 24 hours and the use of police cells as a place of safety to be restricted.

The report comes less than 2 weeks after a woman with mental health problems was held for 11 hours in a police cell then three hours in the back of a police car. AWP later sent out and apology and said the situation “was not ideal”.

If the trust fails to comply with the warning notice, it could face further action.

SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37304242

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