PLANS to reopen a private hospital have been delayed by Covid-19 but have not been shelved.

Cygnet Newbus Grange, in Darlington, has been closed since last year after the industry watchdog uncovered a raft of issues with the hospital.

The company, closed the hospital, which provided care for those with learning disabilities and autism, shortly after it was deemed inadequate following an unannounced inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), citing "refurbishment".

A spokesperson for Cygnet, which also ran Whorlton Hall, near Barnard Castle, which closed following allegations of abuse in 2019, said: "Our plans have been affected by the pandemic, however we still intend to refurbish and re-open the facility in the future."

The CQC raised concerns about patient safety, patient restraining measures, the overall condition of the hospital and patients at risk of accidental hanging.

The watchdog had also raised concern about the number of incidents of restraint, which had “substantially” increased on previous years, with 1,069 reported in one year.

At the time of the inspection, the CQC was carrying out a review into the use of restraint, seclusions and segregation in care services for people with mental health conditions, learning disabilities and autistic people.

The final report was published last month, which found the environment of mental health hospitals was often not therapeutic and many facilities were making inappropriate use of restraint.

According to the CQC's directory, Cygnet runs six hospitals in the North-East, including Newbus Grange, Cygnet Appletree in Meadowfield, Victoria House, Darlington, which is rated as "requires improvement" and Cygnet Hospital Hexham, which is "inadequate."

Cygnet St Williams, Darlington, which looks after people with brain injuries, which opened this year, is rated as good while Cygnet Newham House, in Middlesbrough, which was registered in September is yet to be inspected.

A spokesperson for Cygnet said: "Cygnet runs more than 140 services across the UK of which 85 per cent are rated good or outstanding. Four services out of those 140 are rated inadequate and we are working hard to make improvements and bring them in line with the rest of our portfolio.

"Many of our good and outstanding services have maintained these ratings over multiple inspections, over many years, showing sustainability in our provision. It also demonstrates that our structure, systems and management have been effective in maintaining sustainable, high quality care across the majority of our services.

"In a small number of cases where we need to make improvements we are committed to doing so through investment in the facilities, staffing and by working collaboratively with our stakeholders."