Cygnet Elms is a 10-bed high dependency complex care service for women with a learning disability and additional mental health needs located in Birmingham.
A huge congratulations to the whole team at Elms, who are praised throughout the CQC report for their teamwork and their genuine person-centred approach to supporting and empowering their patients. These themes are recurring throughout the report, which reinforces the importance of strong communication within the staff team, but also with service users and their relatives.
The Elms is run by Sarah Jenks who has been with the company since 2011, starting as a Senior Staff Nurse at the Cedars, and then moving to Elms in 2013. Sarah has been the Manager at Elms since October 2017.
“It’s down to all the hard work and commitment from both staff and service users that has made Cygnet Elms an outstanding service.”Sarah Jenks, Hospital Manager, Cygnet Elms
Nick Ruffley, Operations Director for Cygnet Elms praised the team: “It is a fantastic achievement for any hospital to receive the highest possible rating from the CQC of Outstanding in all domains. It is an even greater achievement for a Learning Disability service to receive this rating in 2018 in the middle of the Transforming Care Programme which is challenging so many similar services. The fact that Elms has achieved this is testimony to the values, culture and hard work of the team which under Sarah’s leadership ensures such excellent practice. I am proud to be associated with the service.”
The full report (published on the CQC website) highlights many areas of positive practice, including:
- Positive risk taking and least restrictive practice was embedded within the culture of the unit.
- Patients were fully involved in planning and evaluating their care. Patients were active partners in their recovery and risk management.
- Patients were involved in shaping least restrictive practice through governance and community groups.
- Staff communicated well, morale was high, and all worked towards meeting the needs of patients.
- Staff and patients were supported to undertake innovative and creative projects.
- Staff sought to understand what it was like to be a patient at Elms, to make patients’ experiences better.
Well done to Sarah and all the team at Cygnet Elms – we are so proud to have such an outstanding service in the Cygnet Health Care portfolio.