Up to 50 mental health patients in Norfolk and Suffolk had to be sent to other parts of England last week because of a shortage of beds and a shortfall in funding. In June Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt criticised the “unacceptable” distances Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) patients had to travel for beds. The […]
BBC News: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health patients in beds miles from home Read More »
We have received an email from an NSFT email address. It reads: Dear Campaign I am contacting you as requested by my employer as a result of disciplinary action taken against me. I have been instructed to; “..request the removal of the audio file and provide evidence of when this is complete…”. Sadly, this request
I’m John: Orwellian email Read More »
Thousands of mentally unwell children are being failed because of “serious and deeply ingrained problems” in the provision of care, MPs warn today. In a damning 117-page report, the Health Select Committee lays bare the alarming failings in children’s mental health services. Its report warns how “in many areas early intervention services are being cut
One of the reasons why this campaign was formed was to provide Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) staff with a safe mechanism to raise concerns about the radical redesign, which many felt was impossible or futile within NSFT. Our campaign has always recommended raising concerns internally whenever possible. That said, the culture at
I’m John: Email newsletter changes Read More »
The modern matron sent the letter below, and email versions, to large numbers of staff at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) in the days immediately preceding the recent full CQC inspection, which began on 20th October 2014. Staff at NSFT, quite rightly, saw these letters as a blatant attempt both to intimidate by
This gallery contains the financial performance Powerpoint presentation made to the Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) Board of Directors meeting on 23 October 2014: We analysed NSFT’s business plans and privately told NSFT many weeks ago that we believed that Monitor would be in by Christmas. Sadly, it looks as though we were
Financial Crisis: NSFT Financial Performance for the period ending September 2014 Read More »
Table two highlights trusts that scored ‘worse than expected’ for five or more questions across the questionnaire as a whole. Two trusts (Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust) were ‘worse than expected’ on 9 or more questions. In both cases the questions identified represent a spread across the various
From most recent NHS Staff Survey Results (2013) Exclamation marks indicates performance in the worst twenty per cent of all NHS mental health trusts. From NSFT Friends and Family Test Q1 2014 “How likely are you to recommend NSFT to friends and family as a place to work?” Answer = -52 “we do our best
Stress and bullying at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust: The statistics and quotes Read More »
Dear Colleague The Board commissioned an independent firm of consultants, Foresight Partners, to conduct a review of how “Well-led” the organisation is. Foresight were selected following a procurement process and are nationally renowned for writing “The Healthy NHS Board” which is the accepted guide to best practice in the NHS. The review was commissioned because,
NHS staff at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) shouldn’t need reassurance before the regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), visits, should they? There are rumours of ill-advised messages, communications and even the threat of disciplinary proceedings by some NSFT managers in the run-up to the CQC inspection. Bullying and harassment of staff at
We’ve just received an FOI response from Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). While claiming in public how much it wanted to work with our campaign, NSFT spent a staggering £2,810.87 of NHS funds with its corporate solicitors, Bevan Brittan, to explore legal action against its own service users, carers, staff and public in
Well said, William Armstrong, Chairman of Healthwatch, former Norfolk Coroner and current Sheriff of Norwich: Mental health services are being “starved of resources”, the chairman of a health watchdog in Norfolk has said. Ex-coroner William Armstrong, of Healthwatch Norfolk, said cuts meant “more misery” for patients and their families. He said he had seen a
BBC News: Mental health ‘starved of resources’, says former coroner Read More »
We could all be ‘John’. Listen to health professional ‘John’ telling BBC journalist Louise Priest about the impact of the Trust Service Strategy (TSS) on his own mental and physical health.
North Norfolk MP and Minister of State at the Department of Health responsible for mental health, Norman Lamb, has been very quiet about the collapse of the Section 75 agreement between Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) and Norfolk County Council (NCC) Social Services Department. Section 75 is the legal mechanism which enables health
Disintegration of Health and Social Care in Care Minister Norman Lamb’s own Constituency Read More »
We have resisted criticising Healthwatch Norfolk, in large part out of respect for its Chairman, who was an outstanding Norfolk Coroner who never hesitated to hold Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) to public account. But, enough is enough. Today, Healthwatch Norfolk had a stall at the Forum in Norwich, with expensively-branded pencils, rubbers,
Healthwatch Norfolk: Is it any use? Read More »
It is happening again this weekend. No beds. No accountability. No responsibility. Norman Lamb claims to be a champion of the mentally ill with his self-promotional but resourceless gimmicks such as sponsored bike rides, the Cashless Concordat and ‘parity of esteem‘. The truth is that mental health services have been cut in real terms while
We have been passed a copy of the Operational Plan 2014-16 of Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) and its contents are shocking. In the 2013-14 financial year, mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk were already in deep crisis and this campaign was founded as a result. Yet the Operational Plan submitted to
Great Yarmouth and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group (HealthEast) is making its decision about Carlton Court on Thursday 25th September, 2014. The meeting starts at 1.30 p.m. but we’ll be holding a demonstration beforehand from 1 p.m – the theme is lack of beds, so bring along a big cardboard box and a sleeping bag for
Award-winning Health Correspondent Adam Gretton of the EDP reports: Officials from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), said the mental health trust for Norfolk and Suffolk had high numbers of “worse than expected” results from the survey, which was conducted by the health watchdog earlier this year. More than 250 patients using community services at NSFT
Ever wondered why NSFT does so badly in the NHS Staff Survey? In 2011-12, the Fair Pay Ratio was 6.3, meaning the highest-paid director was earning 6.3 times the median salary. By 2013-14, the Fair Pay Ratio had risen to 8.0 which is 27% worse than three years before, while services and budgets have been
