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A mental health hospital is delivering safe care to adult and psychiatric patients but issues remain over nutrition with some relying on takeaways, an inspection has found.
The health watchdog inspected a specific service at Littlebrook Hospital in Dartford, between November and December 2020.
It found wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units delivered "safe care" and "staff managed risks well".
Inspectors said formal complaints were managed well with patients aware of their rights and how to complain although it was not always clear how informal complaints were documented and handled.
Staff were found to manage patients that exhibited challenging behaviours well and followed best practice in de-escalating and managing those scenarios.
However, ongoing problems were also reported related to the maintenance of the building and the quality of food offered.
The inspector noted patients' nutritional needs were not always assessed and the hospital was not meeting their individual dietary requirements.
Patients and staff also told inspectors they often had to order takeaways to meet their dietary needs.
It comes after a number of concerns were raised about the seclusion of patients, the environment and complaints from patients and carers.
The Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) manages 10 acute wards and one psychiatric intensive care ward based across three hospital sites, including the facility in Bow Arrow Lane, Stone.
During the Care Quality Commission's latest inspection three of four wards were reviewed with one omitted due to a Covid-19 outbreak.
CQC’s head of hospital inspection for mental health, Karen Bennett-Wilson, said: “We undertook this focused inspection to follow up on a number of concerns we had about the seclusion of patients, the environment and complaints from patients and carers.
"We looked specifically at the key questions: are services safe, responsive to people’s needs and well-led?
'We found that the wards inspected delivered safe care and staff managed risk well...'
"We found that the wards inspected delivered safe care and staff managed risk well.
"Seclusion practice was appropriate and wards were clean and generally well maintained.
"Formal complaints were managed well but it was not always clear how informal complaints were documented and actioned."
The Trust was also told it must take action to address outstanding maintenance work.
On all four wards there were long standing issues and three of four wards had damaged walls and doors which had been reported for several weeks.
The inspection did not rate the services due to the targeted nature of the inspections.
It means the acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units overall rating of "Requires Improvement" remains the same.
Inspectors will return in due course to ensure improvements have been made.
The trust’s overall rating of "Good" is unaffected and all other specific services at the hospital remain either "Outstanding" or "Good".
A spokesman for KMPT said: “Our aim is always to provide the very best quality of care.
"We were pleased to receive positive overall feedback from the Care Quality Commission and we accept their recommendations regarding nutritional assessments and some aspects of our buildings maintenance.
“Both areas highlighted for action are already in hand and improvements are being delivered.
“We welcome feedback from our service users, their loved ones and our partners and regulators and we retain our focus on delivering the very best quality of care.”
