Community Care: ‘Critically unwell’ mental health patients sent home due to bed shortages

Sue Bailey, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists said that the survey findings showed mental health services were at a “tipping point”. “Continued cuts to services can only result in further distress and discomfort for patients, many of whom are young, vulnerable, some of whom are forced to receive care far from home. This […]

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Crisis Team Crisis: More than a month after the deadline for ending the use of beds beyond Norfolk & Suffolk, the crisis is WORSE not better

Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) and the three clinical commissioning groups in central Norfolk (North Norfolk CCG, South Norfolk CCG, Norwich CCG) made a big splash of their undertaking to end the inhumane, expensive, dangerous and illegal practice of having insufficient beds for people in mental health crisis in Norfolk and Suffolk, which

Crisis Team Crisis: More than a month after the deadline for ending the use of beds beyond Norfolk & Suffolk, the crisis is WORSE not better Read More »

Community Care: ‘It feels like some lives are worth more than others’: working on the mental health frontline

Emma Corlett writes in Community Care (trigger alert). “As I say, some lives it seems are worth more than others. Where has the humanity gone? It’s a damning indictment of our society and the state of our services that the local shopping centre has now erected safety hoardings to prevent similar incidents. I have no words.”

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Video: itv NEWS Anglia – Full story and interviews with David Walter, Terry Skyrme, Emma Corlett, Norman Lamb and Andrew Hopkins

Click the image below to watch the videos about Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), including interviews with NSFT patient David Walter, NSFT social worker Terry Skyrme and NSFT nurse Emma Corlett. You will need to scroll down the page to the two video clips. NSFT has repeatedly dismissed and ignored warnings through all

Video: itv NEWS Anglia – Full story and interviews with David Walter, Terry Skyrme, Emma Corlett, Norman Lamb and Andrew Hopkins Read More »

Video: Crisis at NSFT leads the itv NEWS Anglia this lunchtime

The crisis in mental health services at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) led the itv NEWS Anglia at lunchtime today. Campaign member and NSFT patient David Walter talks about how the campaign is addressing life and death issues and how mental health services can help people have a life worth living. There will

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Video: Mental health crisis at NSFT on Good Morning Britain

There will be more on itv NEWS Anglia throughout the day. This snippet about the crisis in mental health services at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust was shown on Good Morning Britain this morning. Watch the video below. If you are an Apple user and have trouble viewing the embedded video you can view it directly

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itv NEWS ANGLIA: Trust facing more criticism

Watch itv NEWS ANGLIA today for more on the worsening crisis at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). Staff and patients have criticised the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, saying it’s too difficult for people with mental illnesses to get access to care. The trust has to make £40 million worth of savings

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24th & 25th May: March on Norman Lamb

You can download a flyer with map as a pdf to use, distribute or print and display in your workplace, café or pub. Maps and itineraries for days one and two can be found at the end of this article. Please let you friends and colleagues know about this important event which is designed to be suitable

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NSFT – A Warning from History: March 2013 – Unison’s submission to the Joint Norfolk & Suffolk Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee

Fourteen months ago, when Unison sent the letter below, the Board of Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) wasn’t campaigning for fairer funding for mental health. As recently as December 2013, the current NSFT Chair, Mr. Page, was claiming that it wasn’t appropriate for the NSFT Board to question mental health funding as this

NSFT – A Warning from History: March 2013 – Unison’s submission to the Joint Norfolk & Suffolk Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee Read More »

The Independent: Mental-health patients driven hundreds of miles for treatment

Charlie Cooper writes in The Independent: A crisis in mental health care has been declared by NHS staff in East Anglia, across a region covering the constituencies of two government health ministers. Nurses say that it has become common for there to be no beds available for mental health patients in all of Norfolk and

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Downfall 2: The Trust (NSFT) Strikes Back

Watch the video below. If you are an Apple user and have trouble viewing the embedded video you can view it directly on Youtube. Sorry, this issue is a sometime side effect of the on-going war between Google and Apple which is beyond our control. If you don’t understand why this Downfall parody is satirical humour read this.

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BBC Radio 4 Today: Michael Buchanan reports on the beds crisis and Norman Lamb blames everyone except himself

We’re proud to have helped Michael Buchanan of the BBC and Andy McNicoll of Community Care in their excellent work exposing the scandalous bed crisis on the national stage. Even this year at the HealthEast consultations, the Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) Operations Director continued to push for approval of the bed closures

BBC Radio 4 Today: Michael Buchanan reports on the beds crisis and Norman Lamb blames everyone except himself Read More »

Downfall video: NSFT leadership team in the Hellesdon Hospital bunker

Watch the video below. If you are an Apple user and have trouble viewing the embedded video you can view it directly on Youtube. Sorry, this issue is a sometime side effect of the on-going war between Google and Apple which is beyond our control. If you don’t understand why this Downfall parody is satirical humour read this.

Downfall video: NSFT leadership team in the Hellesdon Hospital bunker Read More »

BBC: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health patients sent away for treatment

Terry Skyrme, from the trust’s crisis team, said cutting staff and closing beds could put patients at risk. He said the trust had nearly 300 unallocated cases and keeping up with demand with fewer staff creates pressures. Mr Skyrme said: “Norwich patients are being sent for treatment to King’s Lynn or Great Yarmouth. “Others are

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BBC Radio Norfolk: Campaigner Terry Skyrme tells the truth as Jonathon Fagge of Norwich CCG and Kathy Chapman of NSFT admit they have failed to eliminate out-of-area beds and have broken their promises

Remember this? Four months ago, Mark Taylor, chief executive of North Norfolk CCG, on behalf of all the central Norfolk CCGs, promised: “Although the numbers are small, we want it to end by April. As commissioners we do not want people to go out of area and we want to stop that as soon as

BBC Radio Norfolk: Campaigner Terry Skyrme tells the truth as Jonathon Fagge of Norwich CCG and Kathy Chapman of NSFT admit they have failed to eliminate out-of-area beds and have broken their promises Read More »

Community Care: Mental health staff consider industrial action over ‘serious safety concerns’ with crisis care

“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

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Unison: Approved mental health practioners (AMHPs) call for urgent action on beds and ballot for industrial action at NSFT

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

Unison: Approved mental health practioners (AMHPs) call for urgent action on beds and ballot for industrial action at NSFT Read More »

EDP Letters: Mental health care has failed a young person in my family

“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

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BBC Radio Norfolk: NSFT crisis in mental health services dominates morning schedule

  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):    

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