A TOTAL of 17 male patients will be moved out of a Winchfield mental health hospital, it has been disclosed.
As reported by The Gazette, NHS England has started to move patients out of Vista Independent Hospital, in Old Potbridge Road, after concerns were raised about the number of violent incidents there.
It followed a Care Quality Commission inspection which found there had been 334 incidents of physical abuse or violence in a seven-month period at the hospital, including 272 incidents where staff were reported to have been assaulted, sometimes needing hospital treatment.
In a statement, Vista Healthcare said NHS England will remove 17 male patients from a low secure ward and “which was singled out for particular criticism and made the subject of significant improvement orders”.
The hospital has room for 69 patients spread across six wards.
It added: “This move by NHS England and CQC temporarily affects 18 beds – one ward of our 69 bed CQC registered hospital. We put a voluntary cap on admissions to the hospital as a whole and CQC confirmed our action by temporarily restricting our ability to accept new patients to the hospital as a whole. We will take that opportunity to reconfigure the site.
“Staff who have been working with low secure patients will be deployed across other parts of the hospital as required.
“All of those involved in the management of the hospital and the care of patients remain determined to work closely with the CQC, NHS England, our staff and stakeholders to implement the improvements we all agree necessary for those who have been placed in our care.”
Related stories on Vista Independent Hospital:
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here