BBC News: NHS ‘had no mental health beds left’

Nikki Fox of the BBC reports on the meltdown in mental health services: An NHS trust was told there were no mental health beds available across England, its medical director has said. Dr Bohdan Solomka told the BBC on Sunday the lack of beds applied across the NHS and among private providers. This weekend, Norfolk […]

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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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EDP: Heartbroken family say Norfolk teenager received poor mental health care

More high quality reporting from David Powles into the treatment, or lack of treatment, of Kieran Fulcher on the front page of the EDP. Why does the press have to do the job of our politicians and NHS bureaucracy, just as it had to at Mid Staffs? The upper echelons of the NHS behave as

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BBC News: Mental health patients sent ‘hundreds of miles’ for care

4,447 patients sent out of their area for treatment in 2014-15 – up 23.1% from 2013-14 “I didn’t know where I was, I didn’t have a clue. I knew I was a long, long way from home as it had taken so long to get there but I didn’t know where in the country I

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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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NSFT – A Warning from History: “Assertive Outreach was simply airbrushed out”

NSFT claims to the EDP: Has the trust taken on board the concerns about the scrapping of the Assertive Outreach Team? If so what has been done? “Following the integration of the assertive outreach function into our adult community teams we constantly review how best we can support those who have severe and enduring mental

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Video: Mustard TV: ‘It constantly feels like chaos’ – Damning staff report reveals extent of problems in our mental health trust

A damning report’s highlighted the challenges facing NHS staff looking after some of Norfolk’s most vulnerable patients. Unmanageable workloads, intolerable pressure and insufficient resources are just some of the issues raised in interviews with staff at the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust. They argue a 40 million pound savings programme has decimated the service –

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EDP: Mental health trust boss admits staff report should have been handled differently

Nicholas Carding of the EDP reports: A governor of the mental health trust has said the publication of the Alexander report should have been handled more openly and honestly. The report, written by Marie Alexander, acting clinical education lead for the trust, was written in 2014 following surveys of staff. Sue Whitaker, who is also

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EDP: In depth: Extracts from the report into mental staff and their views on changes

We’ve been called liars, trolls and mental health extremists. We say we simply told the truth and fought for decent mental health services. Read the story from inside NSFT and make up your own mind. How was this allowed to happen? Why haven’t the CCGs funded mental health properly? How were all the warnings ignored?

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EDP: Norwich MP calls on Prime Minister to intervene over secret mental health report

Norwich South MP Clive Lewis used his first outing at Prime Minister’s question time at lunchtime today to urge the release of the report into the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) which he said raised “serious questions about patient safety and care, due to cuts to services”. He told MPs that the “duty of

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Kept in the Dark: EDP: Mental health trust rejects efforts to reveal damning report

The EDP reports: The region’s ailing mental health trust has refused to release a highly-critical report containing the views of some of its staff, claiming that doing so would stop workers from raising issues in future. Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust was placed in special measures in February and is also under investigation by

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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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EDP: Mental health trust spent record amount on agency staff

A mental health trust which is aiming to make savings of £8.9million spent a record high of £2.4m on temporary staff last month, it has emerged. Following the investigation by Monitor, which was launched in November, Norfolk and Suffolk agreed to try and make savings of £8.9m in this financial year. There is no overall

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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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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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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: Not the Six O’Clock News

From: NSFT Communications Subject: BBC broadcast on Trust being placed into special measures Dear colleagues, The BBC has just informed the Trust that the report, outlined below, will not be broadcast tonight but on another day this week, yet to be decided. I will keep you updated on their revised schedule. Michael Scott Chief Executive Here’s

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