[3] This was the first mental health trust to receive a published rating from the Care Quality Commission under its new inspection regime in September 2014, having volunteered to pilot the process.

But the Trust was told to improve the safe storage of medicines and that people received medication in a timely manner; ligature risks and record keeping were addressed; and to increase the number of suitably qualified staff at some sites.

[5] The trust is actively engaged in research into the design of neuropsychiatry services for people with epilepsy[6] and developing information technology based tools for managing mental health.

[7] A shortage of mental health beds in the West Midlands in 2017 led to a patient spending a week in the urgent assessment unit, which is intended for stays of less than 12 hours, sleeping on a reclining chair.

Clinicians had concerns about inadequate staffing levels, long waiting lists, and a lack of inpatient bed capacity.