Patients told us that they liked it at Townend Court and enjoyed the activities. Patients said, “I enjoy painting and I like the staff”, “My room is big and I have my DVDs” and “I go out to places”.

We were unable to communicate with some of the patients, but observed them to be at ease and comfortable within the unit.

Patients told us they were offered keys to their bedrooms and they also knew the access code to the external door.

One patient told us they liked being on the ward and did not want to leave. They said, “The staff are nice” and “They look after me.”

They also said that the doctor had been to see them.

The person was smartly dressed. They told us about the activities they had participated in and said that they spent quiet time in their bedroom when they chose to.

We observed very positive staff interactions with people. Non verbal cues from people told us they were happy in the company of staff.

One patient spoke to an expert by experience working with us, about their experience of the service. They said they enjoyed living in the unit and had, “Been here a long time”. The patient also told us they get on well with staff, and then named two staff they were particularly fond of. They told us they had an advocate, “Who sometimes visits”. From these comments it was clear that this patient felt they were offered appropriate treatment care and support to meet their needs.

Another patient told us they were admitted to the Ridings unit, because, “I was very poorly and depressed”. They went on to tell us how much they liked being there, stating, “The staff are marvellous, the place is marvellous” and they said, they never wanted to leave. The patient told us they were well aware of their care plan.

Patients told us they had not been offered keys to their bedrooms and were not given the access code to the external door even though they were not detained and were staying in Townend Court on an informal basis. This meant that patients’ choice, privacy and control was restricted. And we found their consent for these restrictions had not been sought appropriately.

The activities available to patients in the Aysgarth unit were varied and meaningful. Patients told us they would like more outings and opportunities to be offered in the evenings and at weekends. In the Ridings unit, patients did not have the same range of opportunities to attend or take part in activities either during the day or in the evenings and at weekends. This limited patients’ opportunities.

The environment within the Aysgarth unit, was overall, well maintained, it was warm and welcoming and offered patients comfort/personalised bedrooms. A relative of a patient living in the Aysgarth unit told us they were, quite satisfied, with the environment within the unit. However, this was not the case in the Ridings unit, which was bare and institutionalised. A relative told us; “The first time I came to the (Ridings) unit I thought it was awful”.

One patient complained to us they were unhappy about a physical intervention, (restraint hold), which had been carried on them by staff. We asked the senior managers of the service to take appropriate action to safeguard this patient on the day. We have checked with the local adult safeguarding team to ensure this was done and they told us they had received the safeguarding referral and were assessing the referral under their local procedures.