Unison: Approved mental health practioners (AMHPs) call for urgent action on beds and ballot for industrial action at NSFT

As we predicted earlier this week, frustrated AMHPs at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) have called in the union. Unison today announced: Norfolk based Approved mental health practitioners (AMHPs) employed by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust TODAY met to discuss the ongoing bed crisis. The meeting, called by UNISON, heard from AMHPs

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Crisis team crisis: How long does it take to visit five patients?

A member of a Norfolk Crisis Resolution & Home Treatment (CRHT) team at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) writes: “One of our senior managers was heard the other day asking: “How come a crisis team worker can only do five visits in a day?” Let’s look at the facts: We cover an area

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EDP Letters: Mental health care has failed a young person in my family

“I read with great interest your article in Wednesday’s EDP about the plight of mental health patients in Norfolk. I am experiencing a situation in our family affected by the failings of mental health care in Norfolk. I would stress how kind, considerate and professional the very many mental health workers who have been involved

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BBC Radio Norfolk: NSFT crisis in mental health services dominates morning schedule

  Click the images below to listen on iPlayer to the two morning shows featuring the crisis in mental health services at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT):    

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Crisis Team Newsflash: CRHT calls in the unions as NSFT tries to recruit agency staff on £25 per hour

We have written extensively about Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s (NSFT) botched redundancy programme which has wasted many millions of pounds and introduced unnecessary and unacceptable risks into the delivery of vital services. Now, exactly what we warned would happen is happening. This is the job advertisement for a band six Community Psychiatric Nurse

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Carlton Court: NSFT’s much-vaunted alternative-to-admission arrangements break down

A campaign member on the coast tells us: “The alternative-to-admission arrangements for Laurel and Larkspur wards at Carlton Court have broken down. The residential home at Hopton has apparently lost three managers. Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has withdrawn the arrangement to have six beds with only two patients left awaiting removal .

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EDP: Concern over pressure on mental health staff in Norfolk because of high caseloads

Yesterday, a few of the truths told by this campaign emerged at the NSFT Board meeting in Norwich, as reported in the EDP: “Mental health chiefs have insisted they have a plan to tackle high caseloads after it emerged that almost 400 patients in Norfolk were waiting to be assigned to a community worker… This

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Forthcoming Events: Including deadline for HealthEast consultation @ 5 p.m. Thursday 24 April

Whatever Mr. Page, the Chair of Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), tries to claim in the EDP, the crisis in mental health services deepens, with: hundreds of people who use services without a care coordinator between twenty and thirty people in beds beyond Norfolk & Suffolk at any one time crisis teams overwhelmed

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40th Day of Lent: Going without a real assessment within four hours – Spot the Difference Competition

Below, you’ll find the old Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) Crisis Resolution & Home Treatment Team (CRHT) referral form and the current one. How many differences can you spot? Of course, the big difference between the old and the current form is the additional box entitled ‘CRHT Triage Contact within four hours of

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36th Day of Lent: Going without enough beds

Last week, there were 21 patients placed beyond Norfolk & Suffolk by Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). That means as far away as Bradford, Weston-Super-Mare, Hastings, Dorking, or London. These are not ‘specialist placements’ but patients who could be treated on an open acute ward, such as Waveney Ward, Glaven Ward , or the now-closed Thurne Ward

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35th Day of Lent: Going without an assessment for three months and then given an appointment more three hours away by public transport

‘S’ writes: “One of my neighbours lives in South Norfolk, in the Diss area. He has been under under-65 services for many years as he has suffered from the enduring mental health issue of depression. This ebbs and flows; this year he is very low in mood, he was discharged from the service because they felt

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John Lister: Meltdown in Mental Health

John Lister is a respected journalist, academic and director of Health Emergency. In his monthly column in the Morning Star, John looks at on the Meltdown in mental health services and focuses on Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) in particular. It is an excellent article, even if you wouldn’t normally read the Morning

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EDP: Concern over mental health referral service in Norfolk

Campaigners raised their concerns after figures from a Freedom of Information (FoI) request revealed that the organisation had not hit its referral targets for the last five months of 2013. Figures showed that 65pc of emergency referrals received an assessment in four hours, only 17pc of urgent referral cases were contacted within 72 hours and

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33rd Day of Lent: Going without the NHS

This shocking story has been shared by ‘Ben’ (name has been changed). It sadly shows another failure caused by the inability of the post cuts, post ‘radical redesign’ Adult Mental Health Services of Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) to consistently respond to people in crisis in a timely and appropriate way. However, this

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Unbelievable: After spending £7.3 million on redundancies, NSFT launches a massive recruitment drive

Some staff were paid to leave Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) only last week. NSFT has wasted millions of pounds and put services at risk. What a scandal. Soon to qualify? Newly qualified? Experienced? Any level of experience… Staff Nurses and Mental Health Workers/Practitioners All jobs… Temporary or permanent… Band 5 and Band 6 Other bands

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32nd Day of Lent: Going without listening to warnings

The warnings below are from an email sent more than sixteen months ago by a carer to Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). The email containing these quotations was sent on 22nd November 2012. This email provides evidence that the Operations Director of NSFT knew and admitted that demand for beds was rising as long ago

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30th Day of Lent: Going without £161,965.32 spent in SIX months on an interim Finance Director at NSFT

The Freedom of Information Department at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust writes: “Thank you for your recent request under the Freedom of Information Act. I can confirm the following:- The Interim Finance Director is supplied to the Trust via the agency Green Park Interim and Executive Limited. Costs in relation to this role for

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