Invitation: Meet the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors at 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday 26th September 2018 at the Maid’s Head Hotel, Norwich NR3 1LB

As part of its current inspection of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), inspectors from the regulators of care, Care Quality Commission (CQC), would like to meet to hear current views of the care delivered by the mental health trust for Norfolk and Suffolk.

The last time CQC inspected NSFT, one year ago, it found that the mental health trust was Inadequate for an unprecedented second time, which resulted in NSFT again being placed into Special Measures by the regulator of NHS trusts, NHS Improvement (NHSI). No other mental health trust has been placed in Special Measures even once, never mind twice.

The release of the last inadequate inspection report was accompanied by the departure of the Chief Executive, Director of Nursing and Director of Strategy and Resources at NSFT. So, what CQC thinks matters.

We remain profoundly concerned about the state of mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk: yet more beds have closed, including all the psychiatric intensive care beds in Suffolk; we are deeply worried about poor crisis support, premature discharge, delays to Mental Health Act assessments, transportation as a result of lack of beds, inadequate services for children and young people, bullying of trust governors and lack of engagement with stakeholders, difficulties seeing a psychiatrist, lack of therapy, care co-ordinators with excessive caseloads, understaffed community teams and patient deaths which remain too high and about which NSFT appears complacent. Cuts to other mental health services, especially those provided by Norfolk County Council and dual diagnosis services now provided by Change Grow Live (CGL) also threaten to increase demand and safety risks for NSFT patients for which NSFT appears ill-prepared and funded. NSFT still remains dramatically underfunded after years of cuts despite massive increases in demand.

Most powerful of all evidence are the personal experiences of service users, carers, front line staff and the bereaved. Join us and share your experiences of NSFT with CQC and help improve mental health services for all who rely upon them in Norfolk and Suffolk. You may also find it comforting to share your experience with others in a similar position and cathartic to speak truth unto power.

The meeting takes place at 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday 26th September 2018 at the Maid’s Hotel in Norwich. There will be an optional meeting beforehand in the hotel at 5.30 p.m. if you would like to join others for an informal chat before meeting CQC.

If you can’t attend, get in touch with us and we can pass on your thoughts and experiences onto CQC. If transport might prevent your attendance, do get in touch and we will try to help. CQC is one of the few parts of the NHS system which genuinely listens to service users, carers and front line staff.

Sadly, we could not arrange a separate meeting in Suffolk but this meeting is for all those who use NSFT’s services, whether in Norfolk or Suffolk.

A location map is below:

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