NHFT’s acute and intensive care mental health wards rated outstanding by CQC
Acute and intensive care mental health inpatient services provided by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) have been rated outstanding by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
An unannounced routine inspection of NHFT's acute and psychiatric intensive care wards for adults aged 18 to 65 at St Mary's Hospital in Kettering and Berrywood Hospital in Northampton took place in July 2026.
The inspection report published this week awarded the highest possible rating to the services, with CQC inspectors praising their "strong leadership", "exceptional culture" and the "overwhelmingly positive" feedback given by service users and carers.
Anne Rackham, Group Chief Integration and Delivery Officer for NHFT, said: "This outstanding rating is a fantastic achievement for the brilliant teams at our adult acute inpatient and psychiatric intensive care units. They truly embody our Trust's commitment to delivering safe, compassionate and responsive care that's built around the needs of our service users - and to making a difference, together, every day.
"It is particularly pleasing to see that inspectors identified the leadership and culture on the units for particular praise, as well as highlighting how our teams are continually innovating, improving and involving service users in their care. I'd like to thank every single one of our colleagues in these services for their incredible dedication, professionalism and hard work to make this possible."
As well as the overall rating, the CQC rated the services outstanding in the "effective" and "well-led" inspection areas, with good ratings for the "safe", "caring", and "responsive" inspection areas.
Gemma Berry, CQC deputy director of Mental Health in the Midlands, said: "When we inspected the service, we found a strong leadership who created an exceptional culture of learning, openness, and continuous improvement, which led to better results for people using the service.
"People and carers we spoke to were overwhelmingly positive about the care they received, describing staff as kind, supportive, and professional.
"Care plans were comprehensive and consistently person-centred. Staff were proactive and constantly adapting to people's needs; one person was provided with a temporary care plan so they could attend a local hospital with minimal distress.
"Staff and leaders should be proud of the level of care they are providing to people at a very vulnerable time in their lives. The findings of this report are testament to the impact of their hard work."
CQC inspectors also found:
- Innovation in several areas, including the introduction of sexual health screening, support for people with complex physical health needs and approaches to managing self-harm risk and quality improvement
- Staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Health Act 1983, the Mental Health Act Code of Practice and the Mental Capacity Act and discharged these well
- Staff recognised the close relationship between physical and mental health and worked with service users to identify and health risks early and prevent deterioration
- Ward environments and approaches promoted inclusion and reduced distress for neurodivergent patients, with many wards providing access to sensory rooms and equipment
- The acute and psychiatric intensive care units are part of the wide range of adult mental health, learning disability and autism provided by NHFT across our county and beyond
There are three adult inpatient wards at the Welland Centre, St Mary's Hospital, and three at Berrywood Hospital, all providing specialist care for people whose mental health needs and associated risks mean they cannot safely receive treatment at home.
Each location also has a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) for people whose mental health problems need intensive treatment and a stable environment for recovery.
Find out more about NHFT's mental health services at www.nhft.nhs.uk/mentalhealth