Cygnet Hospital Colchester

Had a good few ups and downs at this hospital, but down to some great staff member's who I was able to build a good relationship with, no names mentioned as I am no good with names & wouldn't like to offend the one's I didn't mention. Plus have to stay on a positive level I am sure the staff I am referring too, know exactly who they are. A.K.

Much like a previous review, if I could give this place 0 stars then I would. A very close family member of mine agreed to an informal admission into hospital during a very distressing time and unfortunately the only bed available was at this hospital. Upon arrival, my family member was understandably anxious and nervous, having never been in a psychiatric hospital before. We as a family, all separately drove up to the hospital so he was supported, not once did any member of staff come and speak to us about what was happening or offer any support or reassurance, and there were no phone calls from then on. I myself am a mental health social worker and have worked in numerous mental health hospitals and services, and so I know what good care looks like and it certainly was not happening here. My family member was told things that clearly could not be maintained, such as seeing a doctor the next day. He was also very much treated like he had been sectioned throughout his stay. His care plan had someone else's name on it, clearly copied and pasted. The consultant on his ward was either inexperienced or just doing anything he can to cover his back. He made the discharge process unnecessarily difficult and distressing for everyone involved. Fortunately, when independent professionals came to assess him, they saw that he could come home. The support staff at this hospital were mostly brilliant, and judging by the reviews on indeed.com by the staff, they are not supported in the slightest. This place needs to either have a completely new management team who actually use a person centered approach (including carers/family) or to be closed down completely, considering their CQC rating is 'inadequate'. This hospital made an already difficult period even more distressing.

The staff have been excellent and helped us and our son tremendously. Thank you

If I could give it zero stars then I would. This hospital claims to be a mental health rehab, charging NHS trusts £5000 a week to treat patients with “complex” mental health issues. In reality it is nothing more than a dumping ground with a couple of badly run one hour therapy sessions a month. Permanent staff are few and far between, especially on night shift, where bank staff fill in and quite frankly have no idea what they are doing. Staff regularly sleep while on 1:1 observations with patients who are a suicide risk, leaving them with ample opportunity to self harm or ligature and it is only a matter of time before somebody ends up dead because of their negligence. I have personally witnessed staff dragging a patient by the legs, the patient having already broken her hip while on the ward. The doctors are not interested in patients symptoms, preferring to label almost every person with a one size fits all diagnosis of borderline personality disorder despite obvious symptoms of psychosis, aspergers and PDA (pathalogical demand avoidance, which is part of the autistic spectrum). Staff have been inappropriately restraining patients with physical conditions with no justification, causing soft tissue damage and joint subluxations (partial dislocations resulting in excruciating pain). It is a sad state this country is in with the privatisation of mental health services leading to money grabbing corporations like Cygnet being able to neglect and assault patients. Staff have also mixed up patients medications, giving opiates to the wrong person and then denying any wrongdoing which could easily, if given to the wrong person, cause anaphylactic shock. Regular physical assaults are allowed to happen on the wards between patients as lack of training and chronic understaffing leaves vulnerable patients at risk.