NORTH East Lincolnshire Council has published the findings of the health scrutiny working group set up to investigate the quality of private mental health care in the borough.
The group was established following the publication of damning Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports on three homes owned by private mental health care provider Carmand. All three provide residential services for people with mental health issues, Amber House, Grimsby Road, Humberston, and Topaz and Sapphire House in Grimsby Road, Cleethorpes.
Last February's inspection reports showed a catalogue of failings at the three settings, which supported concerns that had been raised over a number of years by local agencies and residents.
Although no North East Lincolnshire agencies have ever placed an individual in the Carmand settings; the council and its partners still have a duty to assure that no one in the borough is at risk.
The working group spoke to a number of interested parties, including senior NELC officers, the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the CQC, NAViGO, the adult safeguarding team (Focus), Humberside Police, the multi-agency protection arrangements (Mappa), Carmand and local residents.
A number of recommendations have been made within the report. These include:
- The distribution of the report to various organisations to raise awareness of the issues
- Seeking extra assurance about the local process when people are placed in private care settings
- A formal protocol between local agencies to ensure that intelligence on local providers is shared
- A formal protocol for sharing information and concerns between different local authority areas
See tomorrow's Grimsby Telegraph for the full story.
