Wakefield intensive care unit given top accreditation
A specialist mental health service in Wakefield has been recognised nationally for providing high quality care to local people.
The Trinity 1 psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Fieldhead looks after people with mental health problems who need intensive care in a safe environment. The service is provided by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
The unit has received official Accreditation of Inpatient Mental Health Services (AIMS) for providing high standards of care.
The accreditation programme is designed to improve the quality of care in inpatient mental health wards through a comprehensive review process. Success assures staff, service users and carers, commissioners and regulators of the quality of the service being provided.
The 14-bed Trinity 1 unit provides care for people throughout Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees.
It has been re-accredited in a three-yearly process led by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care Units.
The accreditation process includes service users and family carers checking progress against a number of care and organisational standards. Accreditation is only granted following a visit from the Royal College of Psychiatrists assessors, who check current practice within the unit.
Mental health, like physical health, can go through phases of being very good or people can become very unwell. When someone is in need of psychiatric intensive care it means that they are so unwell they cannot be safely and therapeutically managed and treated in an open ward. The PICU ensures that the best care is provided in the most appropriate environment by highly skilled staff.
Practice governance coach Lisa Connor said: “This accreditation recognises the team’s hard work in keeping the people who receive treatment at the heart of everything we do.
“It is fantastic to receive national recognition for the excellent care provided by staff working on the ward and provides people who come into contact with our service additional reassurance on the quality of care we provide.”