Leadership of NHS trust responsible for mental health services in Peterborough downgraded to 'Requires Improvement'

The trust provides a wide range of mental health, physical health, specialist, learning disability and neuro-rehabilitation community and hospital services to a population of around 950,000 people across the East of England.

Services operate from over 50 sites, with main hubs in Peterborough, Cambridge, Huntingdon and Fenland.

The rating was given following the an inspection that was called in response to concerns about the trust’s culture and leadership identified during previous inspections of three of its mental health services.

The inspection focused solely on how well-led the trust is.

The inspection found that:

- The trust didn’t always respond to complaints within agreed timescales, and learning from them wasn't consistently recorded or shared.

- The trust was developing co-production to involve people using its services and their carers to help design services, but it wasn’t yet embedded across the organisation.

- Staff continued to raise concerns about discrimination, with limited evidence that current equality, diversity and inclusion plans had improved staff experience.

The report did also note that:

- The trust was delivering positive examples of integrated physical and mental health care, including innovative services and partnerships such as the Cambridge Children’s Hospital project.

‘Many staff told us they still didn’t feel confident raising concerns’

Stuart Dunn, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said: “During our inspection, we saw a workforce and board committed to working more collaboratively, from a place of mutual respect under new leadership. While the trust had begun to take steps to improve culture and inclusion, leadership arrangements weren't fully embedded or consistently effective which is important to deliver meaningful impact for staff and people using services.

“Many staff told us they still didn’t feel confident raising concerns, and there were reports of poor communication and a lack of visible leadership. These are important areas for the trust to address to ensure staff feel safe, valued and heard as staff raising concerns plays an important role in improving people’s experiences.

“We also found that although the trust had outlined strategic priorities, leaders didn’t always clearly understand them or turn them into meaningful action. As a result, frontline teams often lacked the clarity or support needed to improve care, however, we have seen encouraging signs of progress.

"The new chief executive was well received by staff and stakeholders, who described him as open and approachable. He had taken swift action where needed and under the chair’s leadership had the board and executive team working together in a respectful and collaborative way, creating a stronger foundation for the improvements that CQC needs to see happen.

“We saw committed staff who were enthusiastic and focused on supporting people. We saw good examples of innovative practice, inclusion and integrated care, such as services helping people manage their medicines safely and independently at home.

“We’ve shared our findings with the trust, so they know where improvements are needed, and we’ll continue to monitor them closely, including through future inspections, to ensure people are safe whilst this happens.”

‘We know there is much work to be done’

In response, the trust’s CEO Steve Grange- who took up the post in October- pledged to continue to grow and improve the service provided to communities.

Steve Grange, Chief Executive Officer at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, said: "This report marks a point in time and, while we are pleased that the CQC has noted encouraging signs of progress being made, we know there is much work to be done.

“Since joining the Trust I have seen an organisation that is committed to improving and I would like to thank our dedicated staff for delivering the best possible care for our patients, service users and their families.

“There is a collective focus across our organisation and coupled with the support of our partners, we will continue to grow and improve for the communities we serve.”