Posted by Devon Partnership Trust in #ProudofDPT, Mental health, News on 8th January, 2025
The Junipers, our Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), has become one of only a handful of PICUs in the country to be accredited to the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ (RCP) Quality Network for Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (QNPICU). This is a major accolade for the The Junipers and the feedback from the RCP was incredibly positive.
Becky Howells and Danielle Keeley from The Junipers said: “We are all incredibly proud of what we have achieved and, above all else, we are grateful to the team we have here – the work they have done to achieve this accreditation is truly inspirational. The assessment process has actually taken around three years and, in that time, the RCP has scrutinised every aspect of our work, from our systems and processes, risk management arrangements and clinical interventions to how we engage with families and carers. It has been as a testing as a full-on CQC inspection, but over a far longer period of time. The people that we support at The Junipers can be very challenging at times and this can place a lot of pressure on the team, but to have the quality of our work and our care recognised and accredited by the RCP is a proud moment for all of us.”
The Junipers team (pictured above) at their Christmas party
Out of 154 QNPICU standards, The Junipers met 148 (96%), including 100% of the essential standards that are set out by the RCRP. It also met 100% of the sustainable standards, for which it will receive a certificate. The QNPICU accreditation will remain in place until May 2027 and the Junipers team are having a well-earned celebration on the ward on 28 January 2025.