THE boss of a mental health trust has halted plans to appeal against a ruling which found key aspects of its services require improvement.

Experts from the Care Quality Commission found Cumbria Partnership NHS Trust, which provides a range of health services across the area, required improvement in four out of five areas in March.

The damning report setting out the improvements required within the health trust prompted its boss, Claire Molloy, to state she was considering a formal challenge.

But now CPFT, which runs community hospitals and provides mental health care, including the Dane Garth unit at Furness General Hospital, has confirmed  it is not proceeding with an appeal.

Mrs Molloy, CPFT chief executive, declared the report "disappointing" when it was published. 

But she has now said: "When the reports were published, I was clear that we were considering our response to two particular areas. 

"We were able to do when the CQC held a quality summit which we attended with our partners across health and social care. 

"The summit was helpful in clarifying a clear view of their expectations and what action is needed, which means we will not need to appeal their judgements."

More than 100 improvements were recommended within the report in order to bring services up to a good standard for patients.

An action plan stating how the trust will make these improvements is due to be submitted to the government's healthcare watchdog by Friday.

CPFT was rated as requiring improvement for how safe, effective, responsive and well-led it is.

It was awarded a "good" rating for caring, but is said to "require improvement" overall.

The main areas for concern are that targets for ensuring children receive an appointment with mental health specialists within 18 weeks of referral are repeatedly missed, while there are limited activities for patients with learning disabilities.

Staff were said to have a "variable" knowledge of the Mental Health Act 2005, while some admitted taking patient records home to complete on their days off.

A controversial face down restraint was also found to have been used 47 times against inpatients on mental health wards in the area in a six-month period.