BBC News: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health trust sees 41% rise in serious incidents

Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: A mental health trust has seen a 41% rise in the number of serious incidents (SIs) – which can include unexpected deaths, injuries or security issues – over three years, new figures show. A Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust report says the number of SIs rose from 161 in […]

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BBC News: Mental health crisis care ‘inadequate’

Nick Triggle of the BBC reports: People who need urgent mental health care in England are receiving inadequate support, regulators say. The Care Quality Commission reviewed the help given to people in mental health crisis, which includes people who are suicidal, having serious panic attacks or psychotic episodes. The regulator said the system was “struggling

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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

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Kept in the Dark: Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) tries to hide the devastating impact of the ‘radical redesign’

Our decision to publish the chain of emails between our campaign and Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) finally forced a response from Michael Scott, the £175,000 per year Chief Executive of NSFT, on 30th April 2015. We submitted our original FOI request in December 2014. NSFT is supposed to respond in 20 days.

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Kept in the Dark: NHS England believes gossip and secrecy more important than public safety and transparency

We originally wrote to NHS England in September 2014 – more than seven months ago. Firstly, we wanted to discover what the chief architect of the radical redesign and Operations Director (Norfolk) of Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) was doing after Michael Scott emailed staff announcing her promotion to work for Geraldine Strathdee,

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EDP: Troubled mental health service to get help from Nottingham

Tom Bristow of the EDP reports: Monitor, which placed the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) in special measures in February, has arranged for staff from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to improve services and staffing levels in Norfolk and Suffolk. Monitor said in a statement: “Access to this advice and expertise will enable Norfolk

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Campaign’s evidence to Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) of Norfolk County Council on 16th April 2015

On 16th April, the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee of Norfolk County Council held a meeting to review the disastrous ‘radical redesign‘ at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). The Chief Executive of NSFT, Michael Scott, was accompanied by the Operations Director (Norfolk), Debbie White, and the Locality Operations Manager in West Norfolk, Marcus Hayward.

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Mirror: Another Tory government will lead to a mental health services crisis, warn top health staff

Jason Beattie of the Daily Mirror reports: In a letter to the Daily Mirror more than 100 mental health workers say the Coalition have conducted a “sustained and vicious” attack on frontline services. “We believe that this has put any member of the public with mental health needs at serious risk. “We cannot continue to

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BBC News: Increased use puts pressure on Norfolk and Waveney mental health trust

Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: A 38% increase in mental health patients referred to an NHS Trust has hit waiting times, a report has found. The increase in the Norfolk and Waveney area in the December 2014 to February 2015 period – compared with April to June 2014 – resulted in higher staff caseload

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EDP: Norfolk children’s services boss reveals ‘scandal’ over mental health beds for young people

More important campaigning journalism from our local newspaper, the EDP: Norfolk’s children’s services boss has revealed a lack of available mental health beds for youngsters meant she had to create a makeshift unit in a children’s home, so a 17-year-old could get desperately needed care. And Sheila Lock said a 13-year-old spent a weekend in

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The Guardian: Norman Lamb accuses mental health campaigners of trolling him

The Liberal Democrat care minister, Norman Lamb, has accused mental health campaigners in his North Norfolk constituency of trolling him on Twitter. Lamb, who promotes himself as a champion for mental health awareness, was responding to tweets from the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk & Suffolk which called him duplicitous and said

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Community Care: Mental health trust funding down 8% from 2010 despite coalition’s drive for parity of esteem

Norman Lamb called our campaign ‘mental health extremists‘ for simply pointing out that Norman Lamb claims to be a mental health champion whilst cutting mental health funding and services. Now the £600 million’s worth of Norman Lamb’s duplicity is clear for all to see. What kind of ‘drive for parity of esteem’ results in the

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No More Daves: Campaign scores important victory as Suffolk Coroner decides inquest is necessary

We’ve supported campaign member Steve Martin’s demand for an inquest into the circumstances of his brother’s death in squalor without hot water or heating in Ipswich whilst under the care of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). David Martin’s untimely death at only 52 has been featured by BBC Look East and has appeared

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EDP: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health chief’s salary soars by £35,000 to £175,000 – as service faces stringent budget cuts

Lauren Cope of the EDP reports: A mental health service under severe financial strain raised the salary of its chief executive by £35,000 – as its frontline NHS staff dealt with tough pay cuts. It has faced stringent budget cuts, with the average pay steadily falling from £26,557 in 2010/11 to £21,761 in 2013/14 –

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