“Union members at the mental health trust serving care minister Norman Lamb’s north Norfolk constituency could be balloted on taking industrial action in protest at ‘serious safety concerns’ with services. The Unison branch at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust voted unanimously to start the process of holding a ballot for industrial action after Approved […]
Click on the image below to read the story on the Eastern Daily Press website:
EDP: Union refuses to rule out industrial action at mental health trust Read More »
As we predicted earlier this week, frustrated AMHPs at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) have called in the union. Unison today announced: Norfolk based Approved mental health practitioners (AMHPs) employed by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust TODAY met to discuss the ongoing bed crisis. The meeting, called by UNISON, heard from AMHPs
Click on the image above to read the full story on the Eastern Daily Press website.
EDP: Mother pays tribute to 25-year-old son who fell from Norwich shopping centre Read More »
A member of a Norfolk Crisis Resolution & Home Treatment (CRHT) team at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) writes: “One of our senior managers was heard the other day asking: “How come a crisis team worker can only do five visits in a day?” Let’s look at the facts: We cover an area
Crisis team crisis: How long does it take to visit five patients? Read More »
“I read with great interest your article in Wednesday’s EDP about the plight of mental health patients in Norfolk. I am experiencing a situation in our family affected by the failings of mental health care in Norfolk. I would stress how kind, considerate and professional the very many mental health workers who have been involved
EDP Letters: Mental health care has failed a young person in my family Read More »
Click the images below to listen on iPlayer to the two morning shows featuring the crisis in mental health services at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT):
BBC Radio Norfolk: NSFT crisis in mental health services dominates morning schedule Read More »
Yesterday, a few of the truths told by this campaign emerged at the NSFT Board meeting in Norwich, as reported in the EDP: “Mental health chiefs have insisted they have a plan to tackle high caseloads after it emerged that almost 400 patients in Norfolk were waiting to be assigned to a community worker… This
EDP: Concern over pressure on mental health staff in Norfolk because of high caseloads Read More »
Today’s EDP reports on how Norfolk mental health patients have had to endure up to eight hour waits for ambulances. What this reported eight hours doesn’t include is the time waiting from an assessment by overburdened crisis teams or the often even longer waits while attempts are made to find an out-of-area bed in a
EDP: 999 Mental Health Crisis Read More »
Below, you’ll find the old Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) Crisis Resolution & Home Treatment Team (CRHT) referral form and the current one. How many differences can you spot? Of course, the big difference between the old and the current form is the additional box entitled ‘CRHT Triage Contact within four hours of
The centrepiece of the ‘radical redesign’, the Access & Assessment Team (AAT) consistently failed, month after month, to meet its performance targets for two out of every three assessments in 2013. Many people who were referred in January of this year are receiving phone calls now, in April, three months later. Access & Assessment delivers
37th Day of Lent: Going without fit for purpose Access & Assessment Read More »
Last week, there were 21 patients placed beyond Norfolk & Suffolk by Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). That means as far away as Bradford, Weston-Super-Mare, Hastings, Dorking, or London. These are not ‘specialist placements’ but patients who could be treated on an open acute ward, such as Waveney Ward, Glaven Ward , or the now-closed Thurne Ward
36th Day of Lent: Going without enough beds Read More »
‘S’ writes: “One of my neighbours lives in South Norfolk, in the Diss area. He has been under under-65 services for many years as he has suffered from the enduring mental health issue of depression. This ebbs and flows; this year he is very low in mood, he was discharged from the service because they felt
John Lister is a respected journalist, academic and director of Health Emergency. In his monthly column in the Morning Star, John looks at on the Meltdown in mental health services and focuses on Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) in particular. It is an excellent article, even if you wouldn’t normally read the Morning
John Lister: Meltdown in Mental Health Read More »
Campaigners raised their concerns after figures from a Freedom of Information (FoI) request revealed that the organisation had not hit its referral targets for the last five months of 2013. Figures showed that 65pc of emergency referrals received an assessment in four hours, only 17pc of urgent referral cases were contacted within 72 hours and
EDP: Concern over mental health referral service in Norfolk Read More »
This shocking story has been shared by ‘Ben’ (name has been changed). It sadly shows another failure caused by the inability of the post cuts, post ‘radical redesign’ Adult Mental Health Services of Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) to consistently respond to people in crisis in a timely and appropriate way. However, this
33rd Day of Lent: Going without the NHS Read More »
Some staff were paid to leave Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) only last week. NSFT has wasted millions of pounds and put services at risk. What a scandal. Soon to qualify? Newly qualified? Experienced? Any level of experience… Staff Nurses and Mental Health Workers/Practitioners All jobs… Temporary or permanent… Band 5 and Band 6 Other bands
The warnings below are from an email sent more than sixteen months ago by a carer to Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). The email containing these quotations was sent on 22nd November 2012. This email provides evidence that the Operations Director of NSFT knew and admitted that demand for beds was rising as long ago
32nd Day of Lent: Going without listening to warnings Read More »
Luke writes: “A few weeks ago an 86 year old man needed admission. He was sectioned, and after FOUR hours of phone calls a bed was eventually found… in SCUNTHORPE. Yes, the nearest available bed to Norfolk and Suffolk was SCUNTHORPE. However, there was no ambulance service available to take him, private or public. So, his
29th Day of Lent: Going without beds for both husband and wife Read More »
Abraham writes: “We all know that spending £7.3 million on redundancies when there are 361 vacancies at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) is an outrageous scandal which threatens the safe delivery of services to the vulnerable, as well as an extraordinary waste of money. Sometimes, it is whispered that the purpose of the
28th Day of Lent: Going without basic numeracy skills Read More »
