Fareham mental health hospital under close watch as it promises to make ‘significant’ improvements

Uplands Independent Hospital in Fareham vowed to make ‘sustainable improvements’ after the inspection placed it in special measures earlier this year.

The report, published after inspectors visited in January, rated the hospital ‘inadequate’ and said that patients ‘didn’t always feel safe’ and reported that some staff could be ‘threatening’.

Following an inspection in early 2022, the hospital was served a Warning Notice requiring the provider to make immediate improvements to ensure patients receive safe care.

At the time, Karen Bennett-Wilson, CQC’s head of hospital inspection, said: ‘When we inspected Uplands Independent Hospital, we were concerned to find that the service wasn’t focused on supporting people to regain the skills and confidence to live independently.’

The report noted that the hospital did not have suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff, and also found out-of-date care plans and risk assessments.

A follow-up inspection, carried out on June 28 and 29, looked at whether standards had risen at the hospital.

It found that not all the required improvements had been met, but that ‘a number of positive steps had been taken’ and it was clear that the hospital was trying to improve.

The new report - published September 14 - said that inspectors received mixed reports from people using the service.

Some said that staff could be ‘nasty and punitive’ and spent most of their time watching television or listening to the radio, while others said that they liked hospital staff.

The service did not fully comply with same sex accommodation guidance, and inspectors found that expiry dates for in-use medicines did not reflect the manufacturer’s directions.

One medicine administration area - a converted toilet - was found to present safety risks to patients and staff as the area did not ensure privacy and dignity.

The CQC identified that risk assessments were still not always robust, and said that it had not been clear what the risk management plans were for a patient who was found in possession of illicit drugs.

However, the report also found that physical health monitoring had improved since the last inspection, and that staff were able to recognise incidents and develop individual care plans.

The service had also recently recruited a consultant psychiatrist, an occupational therapist, and a psychologist, as well as a number of registered nurses and support workers.

While the CQC has decided not to take any further enforcement action, it will continue to closely monitor the hospital.

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Coveberry Limited, which runs Uplands Independent Hospital, has been contacted for comment.

Responding to the January CQC report, a spokesman for Coveberry said at the time: ‘A robust action plan has been put in place, and is already making a tangible difference.

‘A new hospital director and additional consultant psychiatrist support continue to make sustainable improvements, and we are confident that significant progress has been made since the time of the inspection.’

A police probe into Uplands was carried out in 2014 after a whistle-blower exposed alleged abuse and failings, and a support worker from the hospital was found guilty of assaulting an 80-year-old patient later that year.