CQC rates TEWV’s CAHMS services as good after inspection

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has upgraded the rating of Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS Foundation Trust’s child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) from requires improvement to good.   

A comprehensive inspection was carried out between April 14 and 16, with inspectors visiting nine out of 29 teams, followed up on previous concerns and covered all five key areas: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

RECOMMENDED READING:

This follows calls from this newspaper and MPs in calling for a public inquiry into the trust which provides mental health and learning disability services for York, as well as North Yorkshire, County Durham, Darlington and Teesside.

Former Health Minister Wes Streeting announced last December that a statutory public inquiry would be held into the trust after numerous significant failings in its safeguarding and care, with the department adding that it is “working at pace” to appoint a chair for the TEWV inquiry.

The report- published today (August 7) – rated the CAHMS services as ‘good’ in all areas aside from safe, which is still ‘requires improvement’,  due to shortfalls in the category of ‘involving people to manage risks’.

The CAMHS service was praised by inspectors who described staff as kind, respectful, compassionate and supportive.

Most comments from carers described clinicians’ “kindness, compassion and patience,” as well as the feeling among young people that they “felt seen” and that services offered “safe spaces” to open up.

One carer said: “Each time, they consistently went above and beyond to ensure their child is listened to and felt supported.”

Another carer added: “The clinician was informed and wanted to know more about the family’s situation and that support was offered and explained with a follow up appointment arranged. They felt the process was extremely inclusive.”

Inspectors found that while many improvements had been made since the last inspection, especially around staffing and providing person-centred care, there remained a breach of Regulation 12 concerning risk assessments and documentation.

The report stated that while risk was well-managed overall, “the service did not always work well with people to understand and manage risks” and identified “significant short falls” in involving people in this process.

The report did not identify ongoing breaches in staffing or person-centred care, areas that had caused the service to require improvement in the past and said that all inspected teams demonstrated “supportive managers, positive staff relationships and a genuine commitment to high-quality care”.

Staff consistently said they felt supported by colleagues and managers, and feedback from carers and young people was positive – with staff all competing training and demonstrating strong understanding of Gillick competence and relevant legislation.

The service is also praised for using feedback to drive improvements, including a new electronic system introduced in September 2025 making use of QR codes, paper surveys, and weblinks to gather the thoughts of patients and carers.

Despite ongoing concerns about risk assessment documentation, the overall rating for specialist community mental health services for children and young people is now good, with services described as clean, well-equipped, and supportive.

Beverley Murphy, chief nurse at the trust, said: “This report shows the determination of our colleagues to improve care for young people across our communities. We’re incredibly proud of our CAMHS service and, most importantly, the dedicated staff who make a positive difference every day.

“We’re pleased that the service has been rated good overall, with inspectors recognising caring, compassionate and committed staff, positive feedback from young people and carers, and improvements in staffing, responsiveness and how teams work together.

“It also demonstrates the positive changes we’ve made since our last inspection in 2022, when this service was rated as requires improvement.  

“Alongside our partners we’ve improved access to care so young people can get help more quickly, closer to home and in ways that support them to thrive in their families and communities.  

“We recognise the areas we need to improve. The report is clear that we must strengthen the consistency of risk assessments, safety summaries and safety plans. We will take action on this and continue to focus on learning, improvement and providing safe, kind and person-centred care.”