STAFF at a private hospital for people with mental health problems and severe learning difficulties ignored coronavirus guidelines by not wearing face masks, a new report has shown.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors visited Cygnet Hospital Colchester, in Boxted Road, Colchester, after receiving reports of concern relating to safeguarding patients and the reporting and investigation of incidents.

They found staff were not always following Covid-19 protocols by wearing face makes and appropriate action was not always taken when breaches were found.

CCTV was viewed and found some staff did not wear face masks or were wearing masks inappropriately under their nose or below their chin.

It was also discovered that an allegation of abuse had not been reported appropriately and managers had not ensured they recruited staff with the right skills, experience and values to work with vulnerable patients.

A sample showed two thirds did not follow the provider’s recruitment policy.

Further concerns were highlighted to the commission after the inspection regarding infection prevention which resulted in conditions being placed on the service’s registration.

They did, however, find examples of staff treating patients with kindness and respect.

The hospital was not rated during the inspection and remains inadequate.

CQC deputy chief inspector of hospitals and lead for mental health, Dr Kevin Cleary, said:“Our latest inspection and ongoing monitoring of Cygnet Colchester found improvements were still needed in some areas, particularly surrounding infection prevention and control.

“With cases of Covid-19 rising, it is essential the service makes these improvements to ensure patients are receiving care in a safe environment.”

“The provider’s leadership knows what it must do to bring about these improvements and we will continue to monitor the service and will return to check on improvements at a later date”.

A spokesman for the hospital said: “Significant improvements at Cygnet Hospital Colchester have been made since the CQC’s last comprehensive inspection in November 2019, and these are acknowledged in the latest report.

"In particular, the inspectors said they found patients were treated with kindness and respect, and that managers supported staff through regular, constructive, managerial, clinical and safeguarding supervision of their work.

"After reviewing 79% of all available CCTV linked to restraints across all wards, inspectors also agreed that where restraints had been used, techniques had been used effectively and that staff managed incidents well.

”Where concerns were raised during the recent unannounced focused inspection, we took immediate steps to address these, with managers reinforcing Cygnet’s Covid-19 policy on infection prevention and control as set out by the government, and we have tested the competency of all clinical staff in respect of these guidelines.

“Ensuring all our staff have the right skills, experience and values to work with vulnerable patients is a key priority, and our policies and comprehensive staff induction programmes, reflect these values.”

"As the CQC report notes, the compliance for mandatory and statutory training courses at the time of their visit was 91 per cent."