AN independent mental health hospital in Bradford has been rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following two damning inspections.

Cygnet Hospital Wyke, on Huddersfield Road, was the subject of two separate inspections by the health watchdog in June and further enforcement action is being considered due to a deterioration in the standard of care.

The reports said the hospital did not have a good track record on safety.

Between May and October last year, there had been seven serious incidents at the hospital, which included the deaths of two patients. Both are being investigated by the coroner, while the CQC is considering criminal enforcement action over one serious incident which involved a patient falling from the hospital roof.

The hospital has three wards - a male psychiatric intensive care unit, a male acute admission unit and a locked ward for older males with challenging behaviour.

Following an inspection in November 2018, the CQC fined Cygnet £1,250 for failing to submit notifications relating to Cygnet Wyke, as required. Immediate enforcement action was taken preventing the service from accepting any new patients until March 10 this year, but Cygnet Health Care Limited appealed against the action.

In December 2018, inspectors returned to the hospital and found improvements had begun, but concerns remained. Inspectors agreed to lift the halt on admissions and instead restricted admissions to one patient in any 24-hour period.

Inspectors then visited on February 13 this year, finding further improvements, but not all previous concerns had been addressed. The restriction on admissions remained in place but was amended to three patients and was then was lifted on March 10.

But following concerns raised by an anonymous whistleblower, the CQC returned to inspect the hospital between June 2 and 4. After identifying a number of concerns, the hospital was rated inadequate and placed in special measures.

Inspectors visited the hospital again on June 19 in response to further concerns which had been raised.

The CQC said one patient was able to tie a ligature unnoticed, exposing them to a serious risk of strangulation. Staff were not reporting incidents, preventing risks from being followed up, and were not trained in patient observation and engagement. Management were said to have allowed “failures in adherence to policy to unchallenged”.

After the June inspections, the CQC applied conditions, including one preventing the service from accepting new patients, which was appealed by Cygnet Health Care Limited. An agreement was reached between the provider and CQC to allow patients to be admitted to the hospital’s Branwell Ward only, but with additional conditions applied in respect of these admissions. A consent order varying the conditions has been signed by both parties and is with the tribunal for approval. The final order will be reported on when complete.

Dr Paul Lelliott, Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (lead for mental health) said: “The safety of people who use services is our highest priority and they deserve safe high-quality care. We have found the standard of care provided at Cygnet Hospital Wyke to have deteriorated further. Therefore, we are considering further enforcement action to protect the people living there.

“We will continue to closely monitor the hospital with support from our partner agencies, to ensure people are safe. We will publish any action we take when it is appropriate to do so, any action we do take is subject to appeal by the provider.”

A spokesperson for the hospital said: “As an organisation deeply committed to providing the very best care to the people who use our services, the findings in this report fall short of the standards we expect.

“Since the inspections in June we have invested significantly in improving the service. We have implemented an intense improvement programme which has been shared with the CQC and they have recognised progress is being made.

“There is new management in place and, in light of the investment and improvements that have been made and remain ongoing, the CQC has already agreed to vary previous conditions so that we can accept referrals to the male mental health acute ward, which will re-open on 13 August.

“We remain committed to working with our stakeholders and appreciate the on-going support provided by our Commissioners.”