A litany of safeguarding points and dangers regarding psychological well being sufferers throughout Walsall Healthcare Trust services and Manor Hospital may be revealed by the Express & Star.

An enormous shortfall in psychological well being nurses meant safety guards cared for weak sufferers with complicated psychological well being wants for 8,000 hours in 2020/2021. The hours had been filed below the time period Patient Watch.

Mental Health charity Mind outlined the risks of the belief’s Patient Watch coverage.

Paul Spencer, head of well being, coverage and campaigns at Mind, mentioned: “When you are admitted to hospital for your mental health you are at your most unwell, and need to receive compassionate support and treatment from trained professionals in a safe therapeutic environment.

“Having staff such as security guards monitor patients in place of mental health professionals is unlikely to be safe, as untrained staff are unlikely to have the skills to support someone experiencing a complex mental health crisis. This is a problem in hospitals across the country, one that can only be fixed if the UK government invest properly in our mental health workforce.”

Incidents involving mental health patients using weapons, drugs and alcohol got worse during the pandemic forcing a review of procedures at the trust.

The trust has also been forced to build a secure unit, surrounded by security cameras, to stop staff and patients stealing laughing gas (nitrous dioxide) and liquid oxygen.

Another major issue facing the trust was the mishandling medicine by staff, leading to patients getting the wrong doses at the wrong time, if at all.

The findings of a security report ordered by Walsall Healthcare Trust’s health and safety committee led to a raft of recommendations which the trust is working through to dig itself out of the crisis.

Walsall’s dire state of provision for mental health patients is replicated across the NHS. Last month Greater Manchester Mental Healthcare Trust sacked several employees after an undercover BBC Panorama reporter filmed shocking abuse of patients.The investigation revealed care assistants, on minimum pay and without medical training, were often left to supervise patients with severe mental health issues.

In Walsall, as a desperate measure, nurses can apply for a few hours of Patient Watch during which security guards supervise patients. However, instead of a process of last resort, Patient Watch has become a default method of care.

An audit report stated this summer: “The Health and Safety Committee [noted] the priority round affected person watch requests from nursing employees, as safety employees is probably not probably the most acceptable individuals to sit down with a affected person. The Health and Safety Committee will probably be enterprise a assessment of the standards round affected person watch, the monetary factor concerned and acceptable processes for these sufferers.

“A total of 8,000 hours was recorded for patient watch during 2020/21, it was noted that these patients often have complex mental health needs and there is no appropriate risk assessment undertaken.”

“There is concern around Patient Watch requests from nursing staff, as security staff may not be the most appropriate people to sit with a patient.”

Kevin Bostock, director of assurance, mentioned: “The situation deteriorated during the pandemic, the Trust does not have the infrastructure to deal with mental health patients apart from short term assessments, which has had a huge impact on the number of Patient Watches.”

Children and younger individuals with psychological well being issues have additionally been let down this 12 months.

The Walsall Healthcare Risk Register report warned in June: “Walsall Healthcare Trust ability to support and manage any child or young person awaiting a tier four admission. An increase in children and young people in crisis within paediatrics which results in a failure to process and manage patient safety through the patient journey.

“There is not any provision of psychological well being coaching to ward employees however a misplaced conception that the employees on the Trust are educated to fulfill the wants of kids and younger individuals in disaster.”

And worryingly: “There is not any entry to psychological well being help or recommendation out of hours. There is not any entry to Paediatric psychiatry out of hours.”

A series of conflicts of interests were also found in the audit reports including staff signing off their own hours and incredibly 1,600 staff members who cannot be contacted by email because they “would not have an account”.

The report states: “The committee had been suggested that round 1,600 employees would not have an e mail addresses. This makes communication extra complicated and finishing up the employees survey problematic.”

Walsall Healthcare Trust has been approached for remark.