The people we spoke with said they liked being in the unit, they liked the staff, and were given choices about what they wanted to do.

Some people told us how they had been involved in planning their care by describing the activities they were going to do, and what they wanted to do when they moved on from unit. People told us about the activities they liked inside the unit, such as watching television, looking at magazines, and relaxing. They also liked activities outside the unit, such as rambling, visiting family, going to the library or the garden centre, and going to look at nearby horses.

One person told us that they regularly went out with the staff, and when they were upset they would talk to the staff and they would help them. Another person told us it would be better if there was more contact between staff and patients, and they spent more time together.

Many of the patients in this unit have difficulty in expressing themselves verbally. It was still possible for them to indicate their feelings about different things.

One patient indicated that they had made friends with other patients and that they liked to go to the pub with them

We were able to talk to some of the relatives of the patients.

They said such things as “name smile’s when we talk about the staff”, “name has improved, “they get the doctors when needed”, “No cause to complain”, “...liaised quite well with the staff” and “staff have gone the extra mile”.

We did not visit this location as part of this planned review, therefore we did not have the opportunity to speak to people who use this service directly. However, we have considered the views of people using services from other locations within the Trust to inform our judgements.