We rated this service as good because:

• The environment was clean and tidy. The service was accessible for patients with mobility needs. Staff were flexible when arranging appointments for patients, who could access the service on weekends and evenings.
• Staff were trained in adults and children’s safeguarding and knew how to make an alert.
• The service had clear procedures for incident reporting and complaints. Staff addressed incidents and complaints in an appropriate manner and discussed learning at multi-disciplinary meetings.
• Staff met regularly to discuss complex cases, treatment and referrals. Patients had access to a wide range of skilled and experienced professionals. This included psychiatrists, psychotherapists, family therapists, paediatricians, occupational therapists and psychologists.
• The service conducted specialist multi-disciplinary assessments with input from a range of different professionals and offered psychological therapies in line with NICE guidance.
• Educational consultants supported staff, patients and families with communication between schools and other agencies. Specialist dietitians supported patients with eating disorders on nutrition and eating plans.
• Staff treated patients with respect and care.

However we found the following issues that the service needs to improve:

• Systems were not in place to ensure clinicians maintained accurate, up to date and comprehensive patient records. Senior managers did not have oversight of how staff assessed risk and made decisions regarding treatment after assessment.

• The registered manager did not assure that patient information was handled confidentially or stored securely.

• The service did not have an information sharing policy which ensured that relevant patient information was communicated amongst staff.

• The service had not followed up on some identified actions in its fire risk assessment.
• The service did not have records or evidence that some faculty members had received an appraisal.