We met eight of the 11 people who were using the service at Ward Four on the day of our inspection. People who use the service had dementia and this made it harder for them to be able to make their views known. People made positive comments about the service. We were told “The staff were good”, “They have the best nurse here”, “The staff are not too bad”.

We saw people being properly cared for and supported with their needs. People were observed to be treated with respect and were well supported by the staff with their long term and complex mental health problems.

We met people who were at Ward Four for treatment on an informal basis. We also met people who were detained under a section of the Mental Health Act. This meant the Mental Health Act was used to gain legal permission to give people compulsory assessment or treatment. We found people under a section were properly supported. We also found that their legal rights were being upheld.

Ward Four, in line with Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust’s other locations use an online care planning system. People’s care plan records explained what support they needed to meet their mental health needs. People were being supported to stay safe with informative risk assessments records written about them. We saw that care plans were being reviewed online. We were shown the effective system staff used to ensure people’s care plans had been regularly reviewed and updated to reflect how the support and treatment people needed may have changed.

People under a section were helped to understand their treatment regime, as well as the reasons why it had been decided they must stay at Ward Four. This would be for their safety and /or the safety of others.

The staff had been on training to help them understand how to keep people safe from abuse. Staff were clear about who to report an allegation of abuse to within their own organisation. The staff were also clear about the local authority’s role and responsibilities in relation to keeping people safe and when they might need to be involved.

People were cared for and received treatment from staff with an understanding of complex mental health needs. People received care from staff who had a good awareness of the support and treatment they needed.

We saw effective methods used to review and learn from all critical incidents and occurrences that may have impacted on people’s health and wellbeing. The quality of treatment and the service people received was being effectively monitored and reviewed on Ward Four.