Commission publishes new local visit reports - 19 October 2022
Publication date: 19 Oct, 2022
The Mental Welfare Commission today publishes 15 new reports on NHS hospital wards and other facilities in Scotland.
Every year the Mental Welfare Commission visits around 100 wards and units for people with mental ill health, learning disability, dementia or related conditions in Scotland, talking to patients, relatives and staff, and examining records. A report is published after each visit.
Today’s reports cover 15 of those visits, highlighting positive findings, aspects of care and treatment where we think the service could do better and making recommendations for change where necessary.
Claire Lamza, executive director (nursing), Mental Welfare Commission, said:
“One aspect of today’s reports that was really interesting for us was the way in which ward staff are actively seeking out and undertaking new training opportunities. Nurses, doctors and other health and care professionals told us about how they are committed to updating their skills and introducing new ideas that benefit patient care.
“It was great to see this, and it was reflected in our conversations with patients and relatives, who spoke very positively about ward staff. Given current pressures in the NHS, I want to make clear how impressed our own teams were with this finding.
“One area for improvement remains delays in people being able to leave hospital when they are well enough to do so. These delays can occur for a variety of reasons. Some of the wards in today’s reports have a persistent problem with this issue, to the detriment of patients and those waiting for care and treatment.
“Another area of concern was with some environments. While some wards are modern and well designed, others have poor facilities and must be upgraded.”
The reports are for:
The Commission expects a response to each of its recommendations within three months of the reports being published.