EDP: Mental health trust boss Michael Scott retires with immediate effect ahead of pending inspection report

Geraldine Scott of the Eastern Daily Press reports:

The boss of the region’s beleaguered mental health trust is retiring with immediate effect.

The trust recently had its third inspection and NSFT chair Gary Page said as they “await the inspection report, Michael feels now is the appropriate time for a new leader to take forward the recommendations that will follow in order to continue to improve our trust.”

The CQC published a damning report into the service in 2015, including concerns about the safety of services, staffing levels and leadership.

A spokesperson for the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk said: “We have long been calling for a new board and management culture at NSFT which puts patients and carers first and foremost and genuinely engages with front line staff.

“Michael Scott’s sudden retirement could represent the beginning of an opportunity to turn around mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk. But new management is not enough – mental health services have to be properly resourced as well as competently managed. Our politicians need to make sure that local commissioners and NHS England need to step up to provide enough money, beds and staff for decent mental health services.

“For service users, carers and staff to have any faith in the leadership of the new interim chief executive of NSFT, we need Julie Cave to accept the CQC’s findings.

“We fear that Michael Scott’s departure precedes the publication of a new and devastating CQC report in the next few days. We do not believe that Michael Scott’s departure alone will be sufficient to stop the rot and the NHS and government needs to commit to doing everything to put matters right at NSFT, the people of Norfolk and Suffolk have been let down and ignored for far too long.”

Read the article in full on the EDP website by clicking on the image below:

5 thoughts on “EDP: Mental health trust boss Michael Scott retires with immediate effect ahead of pending inspection report”

  1. I am hoping that with the demise today of the CEO of NSFT, the issues of insufficient beds, inadequate safe places for people who are vulnerable and who need urgent, prompt, adequate treatment for severe mental illness will now receive acknowledgement and appropriate priority above current strategies which put balancing the books, before protecting the Trust from criticism and have previously ignored the needs of service users, carers and public. Michael Scott and his Board could have improved services if they had listened. The Board as it stands has failed the many people who have died in its care. There are many out in the community who desperately need protection, treatment and care. We, the campaign, will continue to represent the needs and views of the public in the hope that the acting CEO, the Chair and Board of Directors will listen.

  2. I feel sorry for all those people let down by the trust….patients and their grieving families, frontline staff, who have not been listened to properly, and their concerns not addressed……Spending precious money on lawyers, and on PR  to promote and defend, poor judgement and incompetent management……the trust simply has too few beds, and the disastrous decisions made in 2013, have simply been compounded under Mr Scotts leadership.

  3. Typical get out before the …. hits the fan, pity the CCGS wouldn’t go as well. No doubt Mr Scott will refuse a pension ??? Perhaps the salary he was on could fund staff on the ground!! I am sure there are Mental Health Qualified Staff that could run the NSFT. No need to bring in another failed banker and social worker. The CQC interviewed me a mere SERVICE USER.

Leave a Reply to Mike

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top