In NSFT’s words: BBC Six O’Clock News tonight on ‘redundancies, improvement programme, staff shortages, our financial position, and the disbanding of the Assertive Outreach Team’

From: NSFT Communications Subject: BBC broadcast on Trust being placed into special measures Dear colleagues, The BBC One 6 O’Clock News is scheduled to be broadcasting a story this evening (Tuesday, 2 June) about our Trust being placed into ‘special measures’ by the regulator, Monitor, following the inspection of our services by the Care Quality Commission […]

In NSFT’s words: BBC Six O’Clock News tonight on ‘redundancies, improvement programme, staff shortages, our financial position, and the disbanding of the Assertive Outreach Team’ Read More »

BBC News: Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust: Children in adult wards ‘unacceptable’

Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) Chair, Gary Page, blames NHS England. NSFT Director of Nursing, Jane Sayer, blames ‘trends’. NSFT Chief Executive, Michael Scott, blames NHS England. The NSFT Board again tries to portray itself yet again as victim not villain but forgets to mention that the NSFT Board was happy to take

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BBC News: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health funding plan prompts dispute

Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: Cash for future mental health provision in Norfolk and Suffolk has “fallen short” of what is needed, prompting a dispute with an NHS trust and a funder. Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust said funding offered by central Norfolk clinical commissioning groups (CCG) does not meet the “volume of demand”.

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BBC News: Protest over ‘gagging’ questions

Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: Campaigners with taped up mouths held a protest against restrictions on their rights to ask questions to the board of the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust The trust had allowed members of the public to ask questions at any point during the meeting, but now is only allowing questions

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Newsflash: File on 4: Minding the Gap: Mental healthcare on BBC Radio 4 at 8 p.m. on 19th May 2015

We’re working hard to bring the crisis in mental health services at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) to national attention. The crisis isn’t over. The CCGs and NSFT promised there would be no out of area placements beyond April 2014. That promise broken, there is now a dangerous Waiting List of Shame to

Newsflash: File on 4: Minding the Gap: Mental healthcare on BBC Radio 4 at 8 p.m. on 19th May 2015 Read More »

BBC News: Mental health spending cuts forecast

This BBC story was based upon our investigation of regulatory filings with Monitor and over one hundred Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted by our campaign. These planned cuts were brought to the attention of over five million viewers of the BBC News at Six. The Health Correspondent of the BBC, Sophie Hutchinson, reports: Mental

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Guardian: ‘System failure’ of NHS mental health services puts pressure on A&E wards

Haroon Siddique of the Guardian reports: Large numbers of people with mental health issues are ending up in A&E wards because of “system failure”, according to leaked minutes of a government-attended steering group. The meeting heard that people with mental illness are presenting themselves at emergency wards because of inadequate provision for them in the

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Campaign research shows mental health trusts nationwide face impossible 8% cut in budgets

Research by the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk & Suffolk, using a combination of the latest regulatory filings with Monitor and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, shows that NHS mental health trusts face a real terms cut in their income of eight per cent in real terms over the next four years.

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EDP: Troubled mental health service to get help from Nottingham

Tom Bristow of the EDP reports: Monitor, which placed the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) in special measures in February, has arranged for staff from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to improve services and staffing levels in Norfolk and Suffolk. Monitor said in a statement: “Access to this advice and expertise will enable Norfolk

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Mirror: Another Tory government will lead to a mental health services crisis, warn top health staff

Jason Beattie of the Daily Mirror reports: In a letter to the Daily Mirror more than 100 mental health workers say the Coalition have conducted a “sustained and vicious” attack on frontline services. “We believe that this has put any member of the public with mental health needs at serious risk. “We cannot continue to

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BBC News: Increased use puts pressure on Norfolk and Waveney mental health trust

Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: A 38% increase in mental health patients referred to an NHS Trust has hit waiting times, a report has found. The increase in the Norfolk and Waveney area in the December 2014 to February 2015 period – compared with April to June 2014 – resulted in higher staff caseload

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EDP: Norfolk children’s services boss reveals ‘scandal’ over mental health beds for young people

More important campaigning journalism from our local newspaper, the EDP: Norfolk’s children’s services boss has revealed a lack of available mental health beds for youngsters meant she had to create a makeshift unit in a children’s home, so a 17-year-old could get desperately needed care. And Sheila Lock said a 13-year-old spent a weekend in

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Updated: Respected journalists needs our help for national radio and TV

Update: we now have two sets of journalists who need our help: 1. National Television We need to hear from people who rely on services and have experienced the impact of the £600 million of cuts to mental health budgets nationwide on their own lives. We want to hear from people who use services, their

Updated: Respected journalists needs our help for national radio and TV Read More »

The Guardian: Norman Lamb accuses mental health campaigners of trolling him

The Liberal Democrat care minister, Norman Lamb, has accused mental health campaigners in his North Norfolk constituency of trolling him on Twitter. Lamb, who promotes himself as a champion for mental health awareness, was responding to tweets from the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk & Suffolk which called him duplicitous and said

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Community Care: Mental health trust funding down 8% from 2010 despite coalition’s drive for parity of esteem

Norman Lamb called our campaign ‘mental health extremists‘ for simply pointing out that Norman Lamb claims to be a mental health champion whilst cutting mental health funding and services. Now the £600 million’s worth of Norman Lamb’s duplicity is clear for all to see. What kind of ‘drive for parity of esteem’ results in the

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EDP: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health chief’s salary soars by £35,000 to £175,000 – as service faces stringent budget cuts

Lauren Cope of the EDP reports: A mental health service under severe financial strain raised the salary of its chief executive by £35,000 – as its frontline NHS staff dealt with tough pay cuts. It has faced stringent budget cuts, with the average pay steadily falling from £26,557 in 2010/11 to £21,761 in 2013/14 –

EDP: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health chief’s salary soars by £35,000 to £175,000 – as service faces stringent budget cuts Read More »

The Times: Officials seize control of shamed trust

Bizarrely, this report leaves The Guardian as the only quality daily newspaper which has not reported on the crisis at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). For how long can what many regard as the natural newspaper of the caring professions ignore what is going on the constituency of the minister responsible for mental

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Ipswich Star: Mental health bosses will make their case as they bid for the funding they are “entitled to”

Today, members of the Campaign attended the NSFT Board meeting in Ipswich. Matt Bunn of the Ipswich Star reports: Bosses at the trust running mental health services in Suffolk have pledged to fight for their “fair share” of funding as they bid to turn round the fortunes of the organisation. The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS

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BBC News: More than 800 Norfolk mental health patients ‘unallocated’

Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: More than 800 vulnerable mental health patients in Norfolk have not been assigned care workers due to staffing shortages, a report has revealed. The 839 unallocated cases at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust include 139 youth team cases. Unison said services at the trust had been “savagely cut”.

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