A SOUTH West NHS trust has been ordered to improve by inspectors after a damning report which found patients being detained in police cells due to a shortage of beds.

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust has been rated ‘Requires Improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after it was discovered patients were regularly waiting more than twelve hours for an assessment and admission to a suitable ward.

The inspection took place in May 2016 and the CQC registered further concerns about patient safety.

Dr Paul Lelliott, deputy chief inspector of Hospitals, said: “When a person in a crisis who requires mental health care is detained by the police, they should be taken immediately to a properly staffed place of safety where they can be assessed by a mental healthcare professional.

“They should be taken to a police cell only in exceptional circumstances. We found that too often the designated places of safety managed by AWP were not available when needed. This must be addressed as a priority and I know the trust is already working closely with the police to tackle this problem.”

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership provides mental health services across Bath and north east Somerset, Bristol, north Somerset, south Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire.

Ann Mooney, chairman of mental health charity Swindon Suns, said: “The big problem with mental health care in Swindon is that there aren’t enough members of staff to deal with patients’ needs.

“You cannot blame the staff themselves, they do brilliant work and are under a lot of pressure from those above who pull the purse strings.

“Their jobs are made very difficult because in order to provide effective care they need to forge a close personal relationship with patients and be able to get out into the community.” 

The trust had previously been inspected in December 2015, with the last comprehensive inspection taking place the year before.

In December it was immediately slapped with a warning notice due to an absence of effective governance arrangements to enable it to assess, monitor and improve the quality of services.

The report said: “When we inspected again in May 2016, we found that the trust had made major improvements to the community mental health services in Bristol. However, there is still more work to be done. Particularly to the north Bristol community mental health services.”

Dr Hayley Richards, chief executive of the trust, said: “We have been working on a number of improvements and have been discussing the issues relating to place of safety in the media during recent weeks.

“Our strong working partnerships with councils, commissioners and with the police are helping us to find solutions for people in crisis who require a place of safety. 

“Overall we have improved how we work but we will not relax our efforts. Our purpose is to provide the highest quality mental healthcare that promotes recovery and hope. We will continue on our journey, continually listening and learning to provide better care.”