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
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
“Emma Corlett, NSFT Unison media spokesperson, who is also a mental health nurse in Norwich, said the cuts to local services had proved to be a “false economy.” She added that the trust continued to spend large sums of money on temporary staffing costs, which amounted to £2.39m in August and more than £8m for the
Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: Patients having to wait up to 22 hours in mental health assessment suites in Norfolk and Suffolk is “unacceptable”, leading experts have said. A BBC Freedom of Information request found that between January and July, seven patients had to wait more than 15 hours and three more than 20.
BBC News: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health unit waits of 22 hours ‘not acceptable’ Read More »
“Use of ‘red leave’ bed’s to manage patients locally, meaning using beds deemed to be held for patients considered to be potentially at risk by inpatient teams. Increased demands on staffing to manage high turnover of service users as well as protracted time periods required to manage applications for OOA placements as well as transport issues. OOA placement usage, this provides financial pressures and risk as well as quality risk. Extended
In NSFT’s words: Bed pressure Read More »
We’ve written before about the financial scandal of the £7.3 million redundancy programme at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), which paid experienced and highly qualified staff to leave, wasted millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, placed services at risk, damaged continuity and quality of care and created a recruitment crisis. NSFT claimed at
Financial scandal: NSFT recruiting to replace doctor paid thousands to leave Read More »
Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: A mental health trust covering an area where care minister Norman Lamb is MP has warned it is struggling to provide a “safe and effective” service. Gary Page, chair of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said “fundamental” changes were needed. Mr Page told the BBC: “We welcome the
BBC: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health trust funding concerns Read More »
At last, after a year of campaigning, Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has finally acknowledged that the ‘so-called bed crisis’ is a real bed crisis and that beds can be opened as well as closed. Thank you, Michael Scott, Chief Executive of NSFT for starting to listen to us! “[Michael Scott] told members
EDP: New chief’s pledge to open new mental health beds in Norwich Read More »
Listen below to Norman Lamb yet again pretend that he is in opposition rather than the Minister of State at the Department of Health directly responsible for mental health. Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), Norman Lamb’s own local mental health trust, is in constant crisis and heading towards financial collapse. Yet, unbelievably, Norman Lamb
Michael Scott, who took over as boss of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) earlier this year, said his organisation was already around £1m in deficit for the current financial year and the way mental health services were funded could not carry on. It is great news that Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Financial crisis: EDP ‘It can not go on’ – CEO’s warning on mental health funding Read More »
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk have agreed to work together to ensure the services provided meet the needs of both counties. The Trust’s Chief Executive, Michael Scott, and Chair, Gary Page, met representatives from the Campaign in July to listen to services
Anne, a CAMHS carer and campaign supporter, writes: “So now the press embargo has been lifted I can write about Norman Lamb’s Task Force which has been announced in today’s media. So he’s finally decided that children and young people’s mental health services need improving – has he really only just thought of this! If
mummabearuk: A CAMHS carer responds to Norman Lamb’s ‘taskforce’ Read More »
Below is an excellent and informative bulletin on the subject of the legal obligations of NHS trusts regarding discharges and placements. It was prepared by the former solicitors of Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), Mills & Reeve, in July 2012. The bulletin was widely circulated within NSFT. Let’s hope that NSFT’s new in-house
We have already written about the massive cuts envisaged by the 5 Year Plan submitted by Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) to its regulator, Monitor. At the NSFT Board meeting last week, one of the non-executive directors of NSFT acknowledged that the real-terms depth of the planned cuts is 7.5 per cent per
Campaigners have pledged to lobby Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s (NSFT) board of directors meeting today over a new plan, which says that extra savings of £44m would need to be found by 2019, if there is no major increase in mental health funding. Members of the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in
But you can still read our copy of the five year strategic plan here. The plan begins on page 20 of the pdf. Strange the way it disappeared after we criticised it. The papers for the Board of Directors meeting in Swaffam tomorrow don’t contain it any longer. How embarrassing.
NSFT pulls its Five Year Strategic Plan from the internet Read More »
Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) Chair, Gary Page, is too busy watching the football in sunny Brazil to attend the next public Board of Directors meeting at The Green Britain Centre (formerly Eco-Tech) in Swaffam on Thursday, 26th June 2014. But it is vital that we attend. Join us to oppose the rubber stamping
A member of the Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) crisis team writes: “NSFT seems determined to reduce the number of out of area placements but not by providing an adequate number of local beds. A senior NSFT manager is going around the country trying to discharge out of area patients. How can this
“Some mental health patients in Suffolk and Norfolk are having to travel more than 200 miles (321km) for a bed, it has emerged. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said the situation was “unacceptable”. Unison urged the government to develop a “rescue package” for mental health services, which they said left 22 patients facing the journey last
BBC: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health patients in 200-mile bed trek Read More »
