Newham mental health staff are ‘excellent’

Staff at a ward at Newham’s centre for mental health have been rated as “excellent” by an assessment programme.

Crystal Ward is a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit with 10 beds for male patients with mental health difficulties. It is run by the East London NHS Foundation Trust. It was accredited as “Excellent” by the Royal College of Psychiatrist’s Centre for Quality Improvement.

The Accreditation for Inpatient Mental Health Services (AIMS) is a standards-based accreditation programme designed to improve the quality of care in inpatient mental health wards. Excellent is the highest level achievable.

The accreditation programme has only recently included PICUs in its assessment process so Crystal ward is an early achiever. The assessors were particularly impressed with the feedback from service users and carers.

The peer review assessors said: “This was a difficult review in respect that there were no areas for further action that the team could identify. The only action the review team could request is that this unit shares all their good work with others”.

The 18 strong, multi-disciplinary Crystal Ward team were involved in a comprehensive process of documentation and review. They were measured against 387 standards for organisation and patient care. The assessors also conducted on-site inspections and in-depth interviews with service users and carers.

Carrie Battersby, Borough Director for Adult Mental Health in Newham said: “I am delighted that the exceptional care provided by Crystal ward has been so roundly recognised by the assessors. The team demonstrate how knowledge, skill, care and warmth can support people who are often extremely unwell and distressed.”