Sandford Ward only opened as a new service in mid-July 2013 and very quickly set itself an ambitious target of achieving the best possible AIMS accreditation. The review team from the Royal College of Psychiatrists who undertook the inspection praised the Sandford team for the way in which they engaged with the process and said that to have developed the service to such an extent so soon after opening was highly credible. While four of Cygnet’s PICU services are AIMS accredited, Sandford Ward has the distinction of being the first of Cygnet’s emergency acute inpatient services to achieve this.
“I have been so impressed by the way in which the ward team engaged in the AIMS process and with the support and leadership of Joseph Muguti, Ward Manager and Barry O’Driscoll, Clinical Quality and Compliance Lead, they have delivered an outstanding outcome. The team are rightly very proud of this achievement. They have demonstrated that by focusing on delivering high quality care and treatment to service users and carers that tremendous outcomes can be achieved. This accreditation validates that work and I am incredibly proud of them all”.David Colyer, Hospital Manager
AIMS (Accreditation of Inpatient Mental Health Services) is a national project developed to ensure best practice is being achieved in in-patient mental health services. The accreditation shows that the ward offers high quality, consistent care to some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members of our society in keeping with national guidelines, standards and legislation.