It has been reported that management at the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust have promised that there will be a significant number of changes to improve care for suicidal patients in the County.
The Trust is responsible for the mental health services for Leicestershire and has been criticised recently by the city’s coroner following an inquest into the suicide of a patient in their care.
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust Improvements To Mental Health Care
Following an internal review by the Trust, it was found that there were five areas overall that could be improved: communication between staff, record keeping, clinical leadership, handover and clinical risk assessment. The Trust has since requested a leading mental health expert to review a total of 7 patient suicides under its care since 2010.
The changes proposed are reported to include an increase in training for agency staff on mental health wards and improvements in communication and record keeping.
These were announced at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Trust this week.
The Trust Chairman is reported as saying:
“Providing care and treatment to people with complex mental health needs is a very challenging part of the work of the NHS and, sadly, we have experienced a number of inpatient suicides over the past 18 months.
“We would like to offer reassurance that we are taking all possible steps to prevent suicide and to ensure our services provide the highest levels of safety. We are confident that improvements we have already made, along with further work under way, will ensure the very highest standards of care.”
The Chief Executive of the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, John Short, was reported as saying:
“Our wards are not prisons, but we still need to provide a level of safety. Our ambition is to get people through the Trust and back into the community.”
Health Watchdog Leicester City Local Involvement Network has also criticised the Trust and said that more could be done to involve family and carers in order to help keep patients safe.
Comment
Caring for patients with complex mental health issues is a very challenging task. It is promising to see that the Leicestershire Partnership Trust has learnt lessons from the extremely sad cases of patient suicides that have occurred in their care since 2010.
The changes proposed appear to present a strong starting point to the improvements that are required, but it will undoubtedly be a difficult and on-going duty. The Trust need to ensure that the mental health service continues to improve and strengthen in order that they can provide the best possible care for the most vulnerable of patients.
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Danielle Young is an Associate in our Medical Negligence team.
If you have any questions in relation to the subjects discussed in this article, then please get in touch with Danielle or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.