Cygnet Victoria House is a 26 bed mental health inpatient service in Darlington, County Durham. The service, split across two wards, provides a safe and stabilising environment for men who are experiencing an acute episode of mental illness and require an emergency admission.
The latest inspection was a comprehensive unannounced inspection of the service in September. Inspectors concluded that improvements had been made in a number of areas and as a result rated the hospital as ‘Good’ across all five domains – Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led.
Inspectors spoke to six service users as part of the inspection who said staff treated them well and behaved kindly. Satisfaction surveys completed by 40 service users over the course of 2022 showed that 90% of respondents felt staff were caring and supportive towards them.
The full report, published on the CQC website, highlights many areas of positive practice, including:
- Staff provided a range of care and treatment suitable for the patients in the service. These included mindfulness, coping skills, relaxation, crisis planning, dialectical behaviour therapy, management skills and cognitive assessments.
- Staff helped service users live healthier lives by supporting them to take part in programmes or giving advice. Staff encouraged service users to take exercise, make healthier meal choices, use vapes instead of cigarettes, get a good night’s sleep.
- The design, layout, and furnishings of the ward supported service users’ treatment, privacy and dignity.
- The food was of good quality and service users could make hot drinks and snacks at any time.
- Service users had access to a range of activities on the wards. These included nature walks, shopping trips, smoothie making, relaxation groups, a chat café including access to psychology, sports activities, peer support groups with occupational therapy and music.
- Staff made sure service users had access to opportunities for education and work. Service user could use computers and electronic devices to access online colleges and courses and an independent advocate also helped find educational and vocational opportunities.
- Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They felt proud, positive, satisfied and part of the organisation’s future direction.
To celebrate the new CQC rating the hospital’s management team arranged for a street food van to visit the service and provide a special lunch for service users and staff.
Paul Jones, Hospital Director at Cygnet Victoria House, said: “I am incredibly proud of the CQC rating, which is testament to the hard work and dedication of the staff here. It is a reflection of the commitment and effort they out in every day to make a difference to those we support.
“The service has come a long way since our previous inspection and we have successfully made huge improvements to the standard and quality of care. I could not be more pleased this has been recognised by the CQC and I want to thank staff for ensuring this service is the best it can be for our service users and for helping us to achieve this brilliant outcome.”