A NORTH-London-based health trust that runs some mental health services in Thurrock and across wider Essex has been told to improve the quality of its psychiatric units and fix issues with managing risks and high waiting times.

Several services at North East London Foundation (NELFT) were inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) between October 2024 and March this year.

The trust is in charge of running hospitals and other health services for around 4.3million people in the London boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Havering, and in the neighbouring counties of Essex and Kent.

Inspectors focused on specialist mental health services for children and young people in Redbridge, which were not re-rated and remain as requiring improvement overall.

Staff were described as kind, respectful, and supportive, and they made sure information was easily accessible for patients. Complaints are also handled appropriately, the CQC said.

However, patients face "significant delays" in accessing care, with long waits for triage, assessment, and treatment, the report found.

Staff also struggled with high caseloads, which contributed to delays, and some young people ended up entering adulthood before they had undergone an initial assessment.

The quality of acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units was lowered from good to 'requires improvement' overall, while general health services for adults remained 'good'.

Nurses in the acute wards need to improve how they record incidents where people are restrained. It was also found that some patients did not have risk assessments or care plans in place for their physical health, and staff need to improve how they carry out observations and track medication.

Patients also complained they could not directly access snacks or hot drinks, which the trust said it would address.

The report was not entirely negative about the psychiatric care units.

Nurses learn from incidents, can show how they have improved following serious incidents, and understood safeguarding practices.

The CQC also found the wards were visibly clean, with staff regularly washing their hands and auditing infection controls.

NELFT was the first trust of its kind to be charged with gross negligence manslaughter after 22-year-old Alice Figueiredo died in Goodmayes Hospital in 2015.

Following a seven-month trial at the Old Bailey this year, a jury found that not enough was done by NELFT or the ward manager Benjamin Aninakwa to prevent her from killing herself.

The trust was cleared of the more serious charge of corporate manslaughter, while Aninakwa was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter.

In response to the report, chief executive Paul Calaminus said: "The voices of our patients and their loved ones are central to the work we do, and we are committed to truly listening in order to take meaningful action that will shape the future of our services.

"We have heard both gratitude for compassionate care and frustration where care has not met expectations, underlining why we must always act with honesty, transparency and accountability to make sure we provide safe, high-quality, compassionate care for all."

Wellington Makala, the executive chief nursing officer, added: "Providing safe, compassionate care with integrity is always our top priority, and I'm proud of our staff and the improvements that they have made since the last CQC inspection.

"We welcome the CQC's findings and will act swiftly on the areas for improvement to reduce variation in standards and strengthen the quality of our services. We will continue to work closely with patients, carers and staff to ensure that every individual receives the high standard of care they deserve."

In the report, published last week, the CQC rated NEFLT's leadership as good overall.