CQC Report: NSFT ‘Requires Improvement’ but Safety remains ‘Inadequate’

Look beyond the spin from the Board of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). The Care Quality Commission (CQC) confirms our concerns about beds, staffing, safety and increasing numbers of patient deaths at NSFT. Not enough staff: We had a number of concerns about the safety of some services at this trust. These included […]

CQC Report: NSFT ‘Requires Improvement’ but Safety remains ‘Inadequate’ Read More »

Newsflash: Meeting at NHS Improvement today to decide whether Monitor should release NSFT from Special Measures

Today, officials meet at NHS Improvement (NHSI) to decide whether Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation should be released from Special Measures. Usually, when a health trust is put into Special Measures, money follows from commissioners to help put things right. This has not happened at NSFT. In fact, it has been difficult to get NHS

Newsflash: Meeting at NHS Improvement today to decide whether Monitor should release NSFT from Special Measures Read More »

EDP: ‘Something has to change’ – Southwold mental health activist Sarah Barrett speaks out after she was hospitalised 206 miles away from home

No wonder the Eastern Daily Press has been shortlisted for a mental health journalism award. Andrew Papworth reports: A teenage mental health patient sent to hospital 206 miles away from home while recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a violent assault has said: “We must campaign for local hospitals.” Sarah Barrett was 16 and studying

EDP: ‘Something has to change’ – Southwold mental health activist Sarah Barrett speaks out after she was hospitalised 206 miles away from home Read More »

UPDATED: Deaths Crisis: Whitewash Protest: NSFT AGM, IP-City Centre, 1 Bath Street, Ipswich, IP2 8SD on Thursday 20 October at 2 p.m.

UPDATE: For campaigners travelling by train from Norwich, why not join us on the 1200 train to Ipswich? Meet outside the Norwich train station ticket office at 1145. Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has seen the number of unexpected deaths of people in its care more than double from around seven per month

UPDATED: Deaths Crisis: Whitewash Protest: NSFT AGM, IP-City Centre, 1 Bath Street, Ipswich, IP2 8SD on Thursday 20 October at 2 p.m. Read More »

Evening News: Anger over decision to close ‘excellent’ 24-bed ward in Norwich

Nicholas Carding of the Norwich Evening News reports on the closure of yet another 24 beds for the elderly on the Julian Hospital site: A 24-bed ward which helps a hospital discharge patients faster will close in three weeks – less than two years after opening. So much for stopping bed blocking. The Henderson Unit,

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NSFT Masterclass: Chief Executive Michael Scott’s excuses for unexpected deaths more than doubling

When the Chief Executive of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) appeared before the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) of Norfolk County Council, he barely deployed a number, percentage or fact. Instead, Michael Scott gave a very long list of excuses, including: “I’m not going to get into a numbers game” “most people

NSFT Masterclass: Chief Executive Michael Scott’s excuses for unexpected deaths more than doubling Read More »

Mirror: Jeremy Hunt breaks his pledge to raise spending on mental health

Jason Beattie of the Mirror reports: Jeremy Hunt has failed to meet his pledge to increase funding on mental health, figures show today. Freedom of Information requests reveal the amount of money spent on mental health could be cut for the third year in a row. More than half of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) –

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Deaths Crisis: INQUEST challenges suitability of supported housing in care provision to young adults with serious, longstanding mental illness

The inquest into the ‘unexpected death’ of Daniel Chapman under the care of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) started on Monday 19th September before the Suffolk coroner, Peter Dean, at Bury St Edmunds. The family is represented by Claire Mawer at 15 New Bridge Street and INQUEST Lawyer’s Group member Harriet Wistrich of Birnberg

Deaths Crisis: INQUEST challenges suitability of supported housing in care provision to young adults with serious, longstanding mental illness Read More »

Invitation: Early Intervention (EI) in Psychosis Event at 1700 on 13th September at the King’s Centre, Norwich NR1 1PH

There is an opportunity for patients, families and carers to feedback to management and commissioners about proposed changes to Early Intervention (EI) in Psychosis services at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). Even though this event is taking place in Norwich, it is for people from across Norfolk and Suffolk. Despite NSFT’s protestations of

Invitation: Early Intervention (EI) in Psychosis Event at 1700 on 13th September at the King’s Centre, Norwich NR1 1PH Read More »

EDP: Revealed: The lucrative exit packages and rising wages for Norfolk and Waveney’s NHS chiefs

Nicholas Carding of the Eastern Daily Press reports: Spending on wages for senior health bosses in Norfolk and Waveney has risen by nearly 15pc in the last three years – despite demands for millions of pounds to be saved locally. Wages for senior members at the five Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) rose

EDP: Revealed: The lucrative exit packages and rising wages for Norfolk and Waveney’s NHS chiefs Read More »

EDP: ‘It is deeply troubling’ – Number of mental health patients in Norfolk and Suffolk waiting longer than national standard rises by nearly 200pc

Nicholas Carding of the Eastern Daily Press reports: Campaigners say they are “deeply troubled” after it emerged the number of mental health patients waiting longer than national standards for treatment has risen by nearly 200pc. Under the NHS constitution patients should be treated within 18 weeks of referral but new figures reveal 280 patients waited

EDP: ‘It is deeply troubling’ – Number of mental health patients in Norfolk and Suffolk waiting longer than national standard rises by nearly 200pc Read More »

EDP: Deaths at mental health service show lack of learning, says doctor

Tom Bristow of the Archant Investigations Unit reports: The region’s troubled mental health service has been accused of failing to learn from its mistakes after it emerged that nowhere in the country had more concerns raised about mental health deaths than Norfolk and Suffolk. Coroners have written to the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT)

EDP: Deaths at mental health service show lack of learning, says doctor Read More »

EDP: Letter: Reasons for rise in unexpected deaths need to be established

In an excellent letter to the Eastern Daily Press, Brian Watkins, Liberal Democrat county councillor for the Eaton Division of Norfolk County Council writes: It is deeply disturbing to learn that there has been a big increase in the number of patients under the care of the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust who have died unexpectedly. Despite repeated reassurances that the situation would be

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EDP: ‘It is horrendous’ – Figures reveal huge rise in number of unexpected mental health deaths

Tom Bristow of the Archant Investigations Unit reports in the Eastern Daily Press: A record number of patients are dying unexpectedly each month at the region’s troubled mental health trust, despite years of reassurances and reviews into the problem. Campaigners and families of those who have died reacted with horror today to the latest set

EDP: ‘It is horrendous’ – Figures reveal huge rise in number of unexpected mental health deaths Read More »

In NSFT’s words: ‘reduction of approximately 135 whole time equivalents (-3%) across all staff groups’

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) is busy denying its own plans for ‘Putting People First’ now that they have become public. Here is what the Board of NSFT wrote in its own Annual Operational Plan 2016-17 in April 2016 to its regulator, Monitor: Over any year we anticipate our staff numbers to change,

In NSFT’s words: ‘reduction of approximately 135 whole time equivalents (-3%) across all staff groups’ Read More »

Guardian: NHS child mental health services are failing the next generation, say GPs

Denis Campbell of the Guardian reports: Pulse’s figures, obtained under freedom of information legislation from 15 mental health trusts, showed that 61% of children and young people referred for help from CAMHS in 2015 received no treatment. A third were not even assessed for it. Only 20% of under-18s referred to Norfolk and Suffolk NHS

Guardian: NHS child mental health services are failing the next generation, say GPs Read More »

Pulse: Why do 60% of GP child mental health referrals end with no treatment?

Caroline Price of Pulse reports: A whole generation of children is being failed by mental health services, say GPs who struggle to access specialist help for their patients. Seven out of the 15 trusts showed marked reductions. For example, at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust the proportion treated fell from 42% to 26%,

Pulse: Why do 60% of GP child mental health referrals end with no treatment? Read More »

Pulse: Two-thirds of GP referrals for child mental health lead to no treatment

Caroline Price of Pulse reports: Figures obtained from 15 mental health trusts reveal that 60% of GP referrals to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) lead to no treatment and a third are not even assessed. The situation for young people with mental health issues appears to be worsening, with the numbers of referrals

Pulse: Two-thirds of GP referrals for child mental health lead to no treatment Read More »

EADT: Death of Harriet Philo Powell highlighted ‘weaknesses’ in mental health care

Will Lodge of the East Anglian Daily Times reports: The death of an aspiring art student from the Essex/Suffolk border highlighted “systemic failings” and “weaknesses” in the Suffolk mental health trust, her family told an inquest. Hannah Noyce, who represented Miss Philo Powell’s parents at the inquest, told the court there were apparent “systemic failings”,

EADT: Death of Harriet Philo Powell highlighted ‘weaknesses’ in mental health care Read More »

EADT: NSFT curtailing psychiatric liaison services (PLS) in hospitals “without warning or consultation”

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

EADT: NSFT curtailing psychiatric liaison services (PLS) in hospitals “without warning or consultation” Read More »

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