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A mental health care hospital where patients were left strapped to beds and chairs with belts “with no clear rationale” has been closed down.
Monet Lodge in Withington, Manchester, was declared “not safe” and rated inadequate in all areas in a Care Quality Commission inspection.
Inspectors criticised its “high level of restrictive practices” and said patients’ dignity was not respected.
Making Space, which ran the hospital, has been asked to comment by the BBC.
Following the closure, all the hospital’s patients were reassessed and only four of the 18 were found to require continued hospital care, the watchdog’s report said.
The independent hospital in Cavendish Road could accommodate up to 20 people and specialised in dementia care.
Inspectors said the service did not have enough nurses and staff “did not manage risk well”.
They also found staff did not always treat patients with compassion or respect their privacy and dignity.
“We saw that staff often talked over patients, ignored patients and talked about their personal hygiene needs in the main lounge,” the report said.
“Patients were told to sit down whenever they tried to get up.
“Some staff we spoke with did not know the names of the patients they were looking after.”
Injury risk
The inspection in March found “a high level of restrictive practices with no clear rationale for their use” including the use of belts and groin straps to stop patients moving out of their beds or chairs.
The report said the need for these techniques to be used had not been assessed by a specialist and some staff who restrained patients were not trained to do so, putting them at risk of injury.
It found medicines were not always safely managed, care plans were often outdated or incorrect and staff were poorly trained.
Inspectors also found many patients at the hospital were ready for discharge but there had been no attempt to support them to move on.
The inspection did note how the hospital was clean and well furnished with appropriate signage, alongside “evidence of good working practice” between a GP and consultant psychiatrist.
It also said some families were positive about the care provided to their loved ones.
