BBC News: Spend on patients out of area up 400pc

The BBC reports: Spending on sending Norfolk and Suffolk mental health patients outside the two counties has risen four-fold in a year, new figures show. The annual report for the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust says it spent £3.3m on placements outside the area in 2014-15 compared with £800,000 in 2013-14. It says this was […]

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EDP: Four-fold increase in bill to send mental health patients out of the region

The Eastern Daily Press reports: A lack of beds and increased demand led to a four-fold increase in the cost of sending people with mental health problems outside of Norfolk and Suffolk in 2014/15. When a bed on a ward is not available for people who need it in the region they are sent elsewhere

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Research: Specialist mental health services in England in 2014: overview of funding, access and levels of care

Specialist mental health services in England in 2014: overview of funding, access and levels of care Mary Docherty and Graham Thornicroft International Journal of Mental Health Systems 2015 9:34 DOI: 10.1186/s13033-015-0023-9 © Docherty and Thornicroft. 2015 Abstract Background Since the economic recession began in 2008 anecdotal reports suggest that mental health services in England have experienced disinvestment, but published data to test

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New Ways of Shirking: A Tale of Two Deputies

Before the NHS mental health trusts in Norfolk and Suffolk merged, each had a medical director: After the ‘cost saving’ merger, the new medical management looked like this: The new structure looks like this: The cost of medical management has risen by nearly 50 per cent. NSFT’s income has fallen, mental health services have been

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EDP: Norfolk and Suffolk’s troubled mental health trust is not improving quickly enough

Nicholas Carding of the EDP reports: The region’s underfire mental health trust is not improving as quickly as hoped, according to a health watchdog’s leader for mental health. A letter seen by the EDP and Evening News, says the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are expecting to see “more progress at a quicker pace” from Norfolk

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Kept in the Dark: Video: BBC News: Cuts, Crisis and Cover-up at NSFT

A brave whistleblower tells Nikki Fox of the BBC that the crisis has not gone away; that the demand for mental health services still far exceeds clinical capacity; that the management of Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) appears to have little understanding of the scale of the problems. The Norwich South MP, Clive

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EDP: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health trust’s use of controversial out of area beds rockets by 87%

Mental health patients in Norfolk and Suffolk are increasingly being sent to beds across the country – despite pledges to reduce the practice. Sending patients out of area has cost the trust £530,000 so far this year. Out-of-area placements saw an increase in bed days from 381 in April to 713 in May – a

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Audio: Campaigner Emma Corlett of Unison interviewed on BBC Radio Suffolk about cuts of £36 million proposed by NSFT in Special Measures

Listen to Emma Corlett of Unison interviewed by Luke Deal of BBC Radio Suffolk on the subject of the absurd plans for a further £36 million of cuts at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) on top of the £44 million of cuts which have seen, as a direct consequence, NSFT rated inadequate by

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EADT: Special report reveals huge rise in mental health cases in Suffolk

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

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Fiscal Fantasy Island: NSFT spends record £2.42 million on temporary staff as out of area bed days nearly double

Having wasted £17.25 million of taxpayers’ money getting rid of staff it needed, Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) spent nearly £2.5 million on temporary staff in May alone. This is a new record, even for NSFT. 68 per cent of this expenditure was on expensive agency staff and the reliance on temporary staff

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Monitor: ‘failure of corporate governance arrangements and financial management standards’ at NSFT

ENFORCEMENT UNDERTAKINGS LICENSEE: Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (the Licensee) Trust Headquarters Hellesdon Hospital Drayton High Road Norwich Norfolk NR6 5BE   DECISION On the basis of the grounds set out below, and having regard to its Enforcement Guidance, Monitor has decided to accept from the Licensee the enforcement undertakings specified below pursuant to its

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BBC News: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health trust plans £36m savings

Michael Scott has announced a further £36 million of cuts/savings at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) on top of the £44 million cuts/savings of the radical redesign which directly led to NSFT’s inadequate rating by the CQC and Special Measures. That’s a total of £80 million of cuts/savings over eight years but, as

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UNISON: Stark warning over further £36 million cuts to mental health services

UNISON issues stark warning over further £36 million cuts to mental health services UNISON has reacted angrily to news today that the proposed financial recovery plan for Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust includes a further £36 million of cuts.  The Trust, which provides mental health services across Norfolk and Suffolk, has already made £44

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Video: BBC News Exclusive Investigation – ‘Firefighting to keep patients alive’

‘Unprecedented failings’: ‘Firefighting to Keep Patients Alive’ An exclusive investigation of the crisis in mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk on the national News at Six and Ten on BBC1 and the BBC News channel. Isn’t it shameful that the Board of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), led by a Chief Executive

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In NSFT’s words: BBC Six O’Clock News tonight on ‘redundancies, improvement programme, staff shortages, our financial position, and the disbanding of the Assertive Outreach Team’

From: NSFT Communications Subject: BBC broadcast on Trust being placed into special measures Dear colleagues, The BBC One 6 O’Clock News is scheduled to be broadcasting a story this evening (Tuesday, 2 June) about our Trust being placed into ‘special measures’ by the regulator, Monitor, following the inspection of our services by the Care Quality Commission

In NSFT’s words: BBC Six O’Clock News tonight on ‘redundancies, improvement programme, staff shortages, our financial position, and the disbanding of the Assertive Outreach Team’ Read More »

BBC News: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health funding plan prompts dispute

Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: Cash for future mental health provision in Norfolk and Suffolk has “fallen short” of what is needed, prompting a dispute with an NHS trust and a funder. Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust said funding offered by central Norfolk clinical commissioning groups (CCG) does not meet the “volume of demand”.

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Kept in the Dark: NHS England doesn’t even keep to its own deadlines

NHS England wrote to us a couple of weeks ago: I am sorry that the response to your internal review request is taking longer to complete than our standard and the understandable frustration this may be causing you. Further to your initial Internal Review request, the panel convened on 8 April 2015 and we hope

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Newsflash: File on 4: Minding the Gap: Mental healthcare on BBC Radio 4 at 8 p.m. on 19th May 2015

We’re working hard to bring the crisis in mental health services at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) to national attention. The crisis isn’t over. The CCGs and NSFT promised there would be no out of area placements beyond April 2014. That promise broken, there is now a dangerous Waiting List of Shame to

Newsflash: File on 4: Minding the Gap: Mental healthcare on BBC Radio 4 at 8 p.m. on 19th May 2015 Read More »

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