Andrew Hirst of the East Anglian Daily Times reports shocking news: Labour has joined calls demanding more money be made available for mental health services in Suffolk, warning that reported cuts of £200,000 will have “severe consequences” for sufferers in the county. Sarah Adams, Labour’s health spokeswoman, said the cuts in provision were “disappointing to […]
Andrew Hirst of the East Anglian Daily Times reports: Doctors have warned that a multimillion pound hole in Suffolk’s health budget could bring about a more “chaotic” service with patients denied drugs and treatments. The Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk said services were already underfunded and could not cope with
David Powles of the Eastern Daily Press and Andrew Hirst of the East Anglian Daily Times report: Two consultants involved in a “strategic reorganisation” which saw hundreds of jobs axed at the region’s mental health trust, each received payouts worth more than £200,000. Day five of our five-part series into public sector pay can reveal
In another example of first-class investigative journalism, Andrew Hirst of the East Anglian Daily Times reports: Campaigners have welcomed plans for a new mental health unit for children in Suffolk after it emerged concerning numbers of young people from the region had been sent to adult wards – a practice described by one mother as
Andrew Hirst of the East Anglian Daily Times reports: More than a year after Steve Martin learned his mentally ill brother had died alone and amid filth and squalor, his quest for answers goes on. “A really good bloke, who’d do anything for a mate.” That’s how Steve Martin would like to remember his older
Andrew Hirst of the EDP reports: The Stepping Forward survey results presented in Ipswich at the Suffolk User Forum event was intended to show how far the NSFT had improved in the view of its service users after being placed in special measures earlier this year. Although the trust has agreed measures to improve since
Andrew Hirst of the East Anglian Daily Times reports: Unison at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Trust backs King’s Fund’s warnings over mental health funding. Unison at the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Trust said today’s findings of the King’s Fund’s report “came as no surprise and bears out a lot of the concerns that staff have
Andrew Hirst of the East Anglian Daily Times reports: Campaigners in Suffolk have labelled the county’s spend on preventing mental health problems as “shameful” and have issued an appeal for greater investment. The call has come after new figures from the charity Mind revealed local authorities in England spent an average of just 1% of
EADT: Campaigners attack ‘shameful’ mental health spend in Suffolk Read More »
Tom Potter of Archant reports: Health chiefs have promised to learn lessons from a review into the deaths of two vulnerable adults which exposed a catalogue of failures surrounding their care. An overhaul of support for adults with learning disabilities has been called for following the deaths of a 33-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman
EDP: Deaths of two vulnerable adults in Suffolk expose failings in care Read More »
In a major new piece of investigative journalism, David Powles of Archant reports: Huge increases in the number of children in Suffolk suffering from mental health problems were today laid bare – amid major concerns about the quality of services youngsters receive. Today, concerns were raised that help and support for children in Suffolk is
EADT: Why are mental health problems rising in Suffolk? Read More »
Ellis Barker of the East Anglian Daily Times reports: An internal investigation has been launched into mental health services in Suffolk and Norfolk after the number of patient deaths increased from 95 to 130 in a year. It means the average number of deaths, including in accidents and suicides by people known to professionals to
The number of children and adults referred into the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has gone up from 34,288 in 2010/11 to 44,574 in 2014/15, revealed in figures released to this newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act. At a time when more people are being referred into the trust, it is looking to
EADT: Special report reveals huge rise in mental health cases in Suffolk Read More »
Matt Reason of the EADT reports: The heartbroken mother of a Sudbury teenager who died in the care of a Suffolk mental health unit has claimed lessons have still not been learnt from her son’s death. Joe Ruler died five years ago at the Wedgwood House unit, in Bury St Edmunds, with an inquest last
A sad lesson in how to get it so very, very wrong So, those who suggested the emperor was parading naked, and not clad in new finery, have been proved right. The very birth of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust was accompanied by a chorus of warnings: about jobs; about finance; and – crucially – about care. Critics
EADT Editorial: A sad lesson in how to get it so very, very wrong Read More »
Emma Corlett says: “The whole point of the campaign was that people were brave enough to come forward and talk about their experiences. So for someone to come forward and say it is not true is quite offensive. We are keen for them [NSFT] to engage with the campaign and hear from people the reality
EADT: Mental health campaigners hit back over cuts (and NSFT insults Campaign again) Read More »
NSFT director Graham Creelman said ‘this is a developing national crisis in mental health’ at the NSFT Board meeting in Bury St Edmunds lobbied by this campaign this month. Now, Gary Page again claims this isn’t a crisis but ‘unforeseen problems.’ However. front-line staff have been warning about these ‘unforeseen problems’ for more than a
EADT: Suffolk: Mental health boss rejects crisis claims (again) Read More »
At first, according to Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), it was a radical improvement to services and certainly not cuts to the front-line. Then, said NSFT, it wasn’t a crisis. Then, as recently as last week, Gary Page said it was a ‘so-called crisis’. Now, NSFT acknowledges there is a crisis but it
