Published on: 23 April 2025
The CQC has rated the acute wards for working age adults and psychiatric intensive care units ‘Good’ overall and ‘Good’ in each of the CQC’s five domains - safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. The wards are based across St George’s Hospital in Stafford and The Redwoods Centre in Shrewsbury.
The CQC’s report includes feedback from patients, who said they felt safe as well as listened to and supported by staff. Inspectors found patients were supported by staff to understand their care and treatment and understood their individual needs. They also found the services were well staffed and staff we’re properly inducted and trained.
Furthermore, a number of areas of good practice were identified, such as sensory rooms supporting patients to feel calm and less agitated, and a range of ward-based activities, including those offered by the Trust’s Arts for Health team.
The CQC recognised the considerable improvements to the service made since its previous inspection in June 2023, and MPFT Chief Executive Neil Carr expressed his delight with the report: “The ratings and wider report are enormously positive and demonstrate our commitment to providing the highest quality care possible to our patients and their loved ones.
“The ‘Good’ rating from the CQC reflects the enormous amount of hard work of our staff, and I thank them for their unwavering dedication. Likewise, I’m really pleased inspectors recognised how new ways of working are making a difference for patients, who said they felt safe, listened to and supported.
“Whilst we celebrate and say congratulations to our staff, we also understand where services can be further improved and are already working to address the small number of areas for improvement identified by inspectors.”
Acute wards provide care for adult who are mentally unwell and require hospital admission. The psychiatric intensive care unit in Staffordshire, which is part of the wider service offer, specifically provides specialised support and treatment for people with severe mental health needs.
MPFT provides acute inpatient mental health services for adults across Staffordshire and Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin. In 2024, the CQC also rated the Trust’s inpatient service for older adults – people aged 65 and above - as ‘Good’.
The full report is available on the CQC’s website: Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust HTML report for assessment AP8370 - Acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units - Care Quality Commission