Glowing report after first inspection at St Andrews’mental health practice

Health are Inspection Scotland carried out an announced visit to the St Andrews Practice Limited in February - and it was impressed with what it saw at the Largo Road premises. Its report came after speaking to with two managers, and also getting feedback online from 23 patients in its first visit to the practice.

It said: “Patients were treated with dignity and respect, and were fully informed about the treatments, assessments and interventions provided. The service was a clean and welcoming environment for patients.”The report described patient care records as “clear and comprehensive” and added: “Thorough assessments were carried out for each patient to establish a formal diagnosis and inform their future treatment. Treatment options were discussed and consent was always obtained. The service had up-to-date recruitment and practicing privileges policies. Pre-employment safety checks were in place and professional registers were checked regularly.”

The report continued: “The service’s website provided comprehensive information on the mental health assessments and treatments available in the service. Patients were provided with information about the assessment process, treatments and potential future costs for medication and the need for additional consultations. This information allowed patients to make an informed decision about accessing treatment with the service.

“We saw recent improvements had been made to the service after receiving feedback from patients. For example, signage on entry to the service had been improved and additional clinical staff had been recruited. We saw evidence of the service engaging with patients and the public online.”