Listen Live

Required mental health service improvements 'already in place'

The organisation providing mental healthcare on the NHS in Devon has been told to improve some of its services - but says it's already done so.

The Care Quality Commission visited hospitals including The Cedars in Exeter, and inspected community mental health facilities.

The inspectors found much to praise in the Devon Partnership NHS Trust's services - saying staff were caring and respectful of the patients.

But they raised concerns that the quality of clinical care wasn't consistently high, partly beause of difficulties in recruiting enough staff. They also said the mental health crisis teams were not providing a round-the-clock service  - with the only response after 9.30pm being a night nurse available by phone.

The Trust says the report is an accurate reflection of the position last year - but a huge amount of progress has been made since then, including improvements to crisis care which involve working more closely with the police.

More from Local News