Staff caught sleeping on the job at Suffolk hospital for a second time
Inspectors have given the service another 'inadequate' rating.
A mental health service in Suffolk has been given its second 'inadequate' rating in just four months after inspectors staff sleeping on the job again.
The Care Quality Commission carried out an unannounced inspection at St John's House in Palgrave to follow up on a previous visit last year.
It was to determine whether the hospital, which cares for adults with learning disabilities and associated mental health issues, had made improvements since being placed in special measures at its previous inspection.
As well as receiving another overall 'inadequate' rating, the service was also rated 'inadequate' for being safe, effective, caring and well-led.
Stuart Dunn, CQC head of inspection for mental health and community services, said: "Our previous inspection identified several areas where St John's House needed to improve its care of its patients.
"These included ensuring people at risk of self-harming were observed appropriately, and measures to protect people from abuse were in place.
"We reported these issues to its leaders, so they knew what they needed to address.
"Disappointingly, our latest inspection found the overall quality of care had not improved and many of the issues we previously raised remained unchanged.
"These included failings regarding patient observations, staffing arrangements and record keeping - all of which presented risks to patient safety.
"The hospital remains subject to enforcement action following last year's inspection, and we continue to monitor it closely. We will take further action to protect people if they are at immediate risk of harm, or if the service does not evidence how it will meet its obligations to its patients."
Inspectors they found staff sleeping when they should have been observing patients - something that was also flagged at its previous inspection.
They also identified a reliance on agency workers who didn't always know the service or have proper training, which meant people didn't have regular designated time with a staff member.
Inspectors say this issue was worsened because documentation, including risk assessments, were not always comprehensive.
This meant staff didn't have easy access to all relevant information to inform the care they offered.
The CQC did say there were some areas where the hospital was exhibiting good practice, including for infection prevention, and in ensuring patients in long-term segregation had access to activities.
Following the previous inspection, CQC placed conditions on the hospital, including preventing it from admitting new patients without CQC agreement.
These conditions remain following the latest inspection.
If enough improvement is not made, CQC says it will use its enforcement powers further to protect patients from the risk of harm and hold the service's leaders to account.
A spokesperson from the hospital told us: "We have been taking decisive steps to address the issues raised by the CQC to ensure patients receive the high standard of care they should expect.
"These include recruiting additional high-quality locum nursing staff, a consultant psychologist and a new medical director and we are appointing a new, full-time hospital director.
"Though St John's House has had to deal with a shortage of clinical staff, which is affecting the entire healthcare sector as a whole, we remain firmly committed to ensuring patient needs are met.
"This includes working closely with commissioners and families to facilitate re-location to more appropriate settings which may take several months due to a shortage of alternative placements."