The hospital was spilt into three units: assessment and treatment for people in an acute stage of mental ill health, reintegration and short stay. The hospital is funded to accommodate nine people in the three units. There were five people there at the time of our inspection. We spoke with three people who used the service, two of their relatives and seven members of staff. We provided feedback to five of the trust managers at the end of our inspection.

Staff had the information they needed to know how to support people to meet their individual needs. We saw that people's needs had been assessed by a range of health professionals and people's healthcare needs had been monitored and met. One person told us, “I feel better since I have been in here.”

All people spoken with told us that they felt safe at the hospital. Systems were in place to ensure that people who used the service were safeguarded from harm. We saw good interactions between people who lived there and staff. We observed that people were at ease in the company of staff.

People who used the service were supported by staff to take their medicines as prescribed by their doctor. This helped to ensure that their health needs were met.

Appropriate staffing levels were maintained to ensure people’s needs were met. Staff had the skills and knowledge to know how to safely support people who lived there to meet their needs.

People were asked for their views about the home and these were listened to. We saw that audits were completed and action was taken to make improvements where needed. A relative told us, “I have been very pleased with the care they have provided here. It has been much better than other places we have experienced. Staff here care not just about giving people food and drink but about all the person needs.”

There were four patients staying at Ridge Hill on each of the two days of our inspection. A different patient stayed in the short stay unit on each day, so we met with two different patients there. We did not meet either of the two patients in the acute unit as staff told us this would cause the patients to be anxious. We met with one patient in the reintegration unit.

We asked patients what it was like to live there. One patient said, “I’ve been in lots of homes, but this is the best so far.”

We talked to patients about their admission. One patient told us they had a choice about coming to live at Ridge Hill. We asked them if they were also involved in planning for their discharge. They said, “It’s taking a while to find somewhere but I hope to settle down and have been asked where I want to live.”

We spoke to relatives about care plans. They said, “My relative has a care plan, I go to their reviews when I can, I air my views and they do listen.”

We talked to patients and their relatives about how the patient’s health needs were met. Patients told us they get good care for their mental and physical health needs. Relatives told us that staff notice when patients need to see the GP and always ask the GP to visit to ensure the patient’s health needs are met.

Relatives told us how their relative’s wellbeing had improved since living at Ridge Hill.

We did not have an opportunity to talk to patients about how safe they felt. We asked relatives what they would do if they had concerns about the safety of their relative or other patients. They told us they would know who to contact and were confident their concerns would be listened to.

We asked relatives if they thought their relative was safe at Ridge Hill. One said, “Staff have patience with my relative and interact well, making them feel safer.”