The inaugural report, released by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, highlights the work of participating neuro services across the UK during QN-Neuro’s first year in operation. Established in 2024, the initiative was created to strengthen quality, consistency and collaboration across neuropsychiatry and neurobehavioural rehabilitation pathways through shared learning, benchmarking and continuous quality improvement.
The report brings together insights from teams, patients, carers and partner organisations, reflecting a collective commitment to improving outcomes and experiences for individuals living with neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions. It showcases innovation, compassionate care, and effective multidisciplinary working – all areas where Cygnet services were repeatedly acknowledged.
A number of Cygnet hospitals and services were named for examples of exceptional practice whilst engaging in the peer review programme. Our good practise spanned admission processes, care and treatment, risk management, patient engagement, staffing and governance.
Examples of Good Practice Highlighted in the Report
Admission & Assessment
At Cygnet Hospital St William’s, carers receive immediate updates, welfare information packs and flexible options to join admission meetings in person or virtually.
Cygnet Pindar House supports pre-admission visits for patients and carers, helping ease the transition into care.
Care & Treatment
Cygnet Lodge and Cygnet Grange were praised for minimising blanket restrictions and maximising patient voice, supporting people to make choices and engage in meaningful activities such as real work opportunities and therapeutic earnings programmes.
Discharge Planning
Across Cygnet’s neuro services, teams were commended for using Visual Discharge Plans, designed to meet individual communication needs and ensure patients are actively involved in setting goals.
Cygnet Lodge & Grange also demonstrated best practice by sending discharge summaries within 24 hours and detailed reports within 10 days, ensuring smooth transitions and strong multi-agency collaboration.
Risk & Safeguarding
The team at Cygnet Pindar House were recognised for individualised approaches to risk, developed in partnership with patients.
At Cygnet St William’s, reflective learning is embedded in the culture. Environmental changes, improved PBS planning and care plan enhancements followed incident reviews, demonstrating strong learning and safety improvement processes.
Patient & Carer Engagement
Staff at Cygnet Lodge & Grange supported patient-led initiatives, including creating a polytunnel to enable gardening as a therapeutic activity.
At Cygnet St William’s, personalised engagement ranged from access to specialist reading materials and pets on the ward to activities such as escape rooms and treasure hunts.
Ward Environment
Cygnet Heathers was recognised for its accessible communication tools, including multilingual signage and talking tiles, promoting inclusion and understanding.
Cygnet Newham House was highlighted for excellent facilities, including fully equipped kitchens and activity spaces aligned to individual interests.
Staffing & Wellbeing
Cygnet Pindar House was praised for its high staff morale. Support workers spoke of feeling heard by management, with support worker clinics providing a welcome and safe forum to share their ‘on the ground’ perspectives. Support from both peers and managers was recognised and appreciated, and the staff wellbeing room was highlighted as an asset that provides staff with a quiet haven when clinical pressures begin to mount.
Governance & Continuous Improvement
Cygnet Brunel is developing an anti-racism quality improvement project aimed at better understanding and addressing racial incidents on the ward.
Cygnet Heathers has fostered strong partnerships with local drug and alcohol services and developed enhanced internal learning programmes with contributions from Speech and Language Therapists and carers, particularly in relation to supporting individuals with Huntington’s disease.
Dr Matt Rowett, Consultant Neuropsychiatrist, said: “The QN-Neuro standards offer a robust framework for benchmarking performance, strengthening pathways and embedding a culture of continuous improvement. Being recognised across so many categories reflects the dedication, expertise and compassionate care delivered by Cygnet’s multidisciplinary teams.
“The report reinforces Cygnet’s commitment to delivering person-centred, recovery-focused care, supporting staff development and wellbeing, and strengthening partnerships with families, carers and external services.
“We want to ensure continuous quality improvement across our neuro services and the recognition we have received throughout the report is a testament to the hard work and passion of our clinical teams, support staff, patients, carers and partner organisations.”
Click here to read the full QN-Neuro report.