THE Care Quality Commission has told a North-East mental health trust it needs to make improvements following an unannounced visit to a mental health hospital.

The improvement orders were issued by the CQC after a team of inspectors visited the Roseberry Park hospital in Middlesbrough.

Roseberry Park provides services for people with mental health needs, learning disabilities and problems with substance abuse. It is run by the Tees, Esk Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.

During a three day inspection in March this year the CQC inspectors found that while they found “some good practices” at the facility it failed to meet national standards in two out of 16 areas - the care and welfare of people who use services and safeguarding service users from abuse.

The inspectors found that care and treatment “was not always planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan”.

There was a small number of people who were “not appropriately placed at the hospital and were awaiting beds in medium secure services” which meant that people were cared for within an environment which did not meet their needs.

Inspectors were also concerned that in some cases “seclusion was used as a way of managing the ward environment rather than as a response to the violent or disturbed behaviour of individuals.”

The CQC team also found that the hospital often enforced boundaries with punitive action.

A spokesperson for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust said: "Roseberry Park consistently receives positive feedback from patients and families, which was reflected in the comments made to the CQC inspectors and published in their report. We were disappointed that the report highlighted two areas where we need to make some improvements, and we are putting together an action plan to address these issues."