Cygnet’s Complaints Team has been shortlisted in the Teams Making a Difference to Experience category, while Cygnet Hospital Kewstoke’s Farm Project is a finalist in the Environment of Care category. Cygnet has also been shortlisted in the Independent Excellence in Experience of Care category for its wider approach to improving patient experience.
The Cygnet Complaints and Compliments Team has transformed the way complaints are managed across the organisation, moving beyond complaint handling to make feedback an important driver of learning and improvement.
The team of three supports almost 170 Cygnet services across England, Scotland and Wales, providing specialist oversight, guidance and quality assurance while enabling individual services to maintain direct relationships with people raising concerns.
The team has strengthened complaints policies and processes across different regulatory environments, improved patient-facing information, introduced enhanced monitoring and assurance and developed training to support colleagues in early resolution and effective complaint investigation.
Speaking as a whole, the Corporate Complaints and Compliments team said: “We are incredibly proud to be shortlisted for this award. For us, complaints are never simply about resolving an issue, they are about listening to people, understanding their experience and using what they tell us to make things better.
“We are a small team with a very large remit, so to see the impact of our work recognised in this way is hugely rewarding. Most importantly, we hope the changes we are making help people feel that their voice genuinely matters and that speaking up can lead to positive change.”
At Cygnet Hospital Kewstoke, an area of land that had stood unused for almost eight years has been transformed into a thriving therapeutic farm.
The project was shaped through genuine co-production, with patients working alongside occupational therapists, staff, horticultural experts and Cygnet’s Experts by Experience to create a space reflecting what people receiving inpatient care said they wanted – meaningful activity, opportunities to learn practical skills, access to nature and somewhere that felt hopeful rather than institutional.
The farm now provides a range of therapeutic activities, including planting and growing vegetables, greenhouse management, harvesting, environmental maintenance and cooking using produce grown by patients.
Patients have reported feeling calmer outdoors, developing greater confidence, experiencing a stronger sense of purpose and pride and enjoying increased social interaction. The project is also helping to strengthen connections between the hospital and the wider community, with partnerships being developed with organisations including Weston College, alongside ambitions to provide produce to local food banks and expand volunteering opportunities.
Josh Tapp, Hospital Manager at Cygnet Hospital Kewstoke, said: “The farm has become so much more than a piece of unused land. It is a place where people can discover new skills, build confidence, spend time in nature and experience a real sense of achievement.
“What makes it particularly special is that our patients have helped shape it from the beginning. Seeing people take ownership of the space and watching their confidence grow has been incredibly rewarding for everyone involved.”
Cygnet’s nomination for Independent Excellence in Experience of Care recognises its wider £132 million ‘Building for Better Healthcare’ programme, which has seen seven new specialist mental health hospitals delivered and 181 existing beds refurbished.
Co-production has been central to the programme, with patients, carers, Experts by Experience, staff, clinicians, commissioners and local communities involved in shaping new and improved environments.
Cygnet’s network of 52 Experts by Experience made more than 1,000 visits to services in a single year, helping influence everything from interior layouts and bedroom design to communal spaces, sensory environments, gardens, dining and meaningful occupation.
Professor Tony Romero, Group CEO at Cygnet, said: “To be shortlisted in three different categories is a wonderful reflection of the breadth of work taking place across Cygnet to improve people’s experience of care. What connects all three nominations is the importance we place on listening to people, whether that is through feedback, compliments and complaints, involving patients in the design of their environment or working with people with lived experience to shape our services.
“The most meaningful improvements happen when we listen to the people who use our services and act on what they tell us. I am incredibly proud of our colleagues who continue to make a tangible difference to the people we support.”
The winners of the Picker Experience Network Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony on 1st October.