- Independent mental health service
The Lighthouse
Report from 4 February 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Child and adolescent mental health wards
Our view of the service
We carried out an unannounced assessment of The Lighthouse on 27 August 2024. During our assessment we visited the hospital, based in Darwen Lancashire. We gathered information from patients using the service and their loved ones, staff and managers, other stakeholders, and looked at a range of documents including care records, policies and procedures. Staff were caring and supportive, responded to patients needs and made sure they were involved in the planning and delivery of their care. There were sufficient staff, and they had received suitable inductions and training to enable them to carry out their roles. Risks were managed effectively; care plans were clear, and medicines were managed safely. Staff felt supported by their managers and felt they could raise concerns. Governance processes were effective and were supporting the service to learn and grow.
People's experience of this service
We spoke to the two patients who were residing in the service at the time of our inspection. We also reviewed feedback from patients in the form of community meeting minutes and patient feedback surveys. Patients told us that the majority of staff were supportive and caring. They reported that on occasion when bank or agency staff worked, they felt they did not know patients as well as they should do, in terms of their risks and care plans. Patients told us about historical issues with the environment such as damp in one of the bedrooms, but this had been resolved before our visit. Patients said they had access to advocacy and understood their medicines. They also felt they were involved in their care plans. Due to the fact some patients usually lived quite a distance away from the hospital, it was not always easy for relatives to visit, so they relied on telephone communication from the service for updates. Carers told us that they felt communication could at times have been better from the service, but they told us they were invited to meetings to discuss their loved one’s care.