The inspection of St Mary's Hospital in Kettering and Berrywood Hospital in Northampton took place in July 2026.

Gemma Berry, CQC deputy director of Mental Health in the Midlands, said: ‘When we inspected the service, we found a strong leadership who created an exceptional culture of learning, openness, and continuous improvement, which led to better results for people using the service.

‘People and carers we spoke to were overwhelmingly positive about the care they received, describing staff as kind, supportive, and professional. 

‘Care plans were comprehensive and consistently person-centred. Staff were proactive and constantly adapting to people's needs; one person was provided with a temporary care plan so they could attend a local hospital with minimal distress. 

‘Staff and leaders should be proud of the level of care they are providing to people at a very vulnerable time in their lives. The findings of this report are testament to the impact of their hard work.'

Anne Rackham, group chief integration and delivery officer for NHFT, said: ‘This outstanding rating is a fantastic achievement for the brilliant teams at our adult acute inpatient and psychiatric intensive care units. They truly embody our trust's commitment to delivering safe, compassionate and responsive care that's built around the needs of our service users – and to making a difference, together, every day.

‘It is particularly pleasing to see that inspectors identified the leadership and culture on the units for particular praise, as well as highlighting how our teams are continually innovating, improving and involving service users in their care. I'd like to thank every single one of our colleagues in these services for their incredible dedication, professionalism and hard work to make this possible.'