BBC News: Investigation of mental health deaths in Norfolk and Suffolk to report in May

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The BBC reports: An NHS trust caring for mentally ill people in Norfolk and Suffolk is to carry out an independent review of unexplained deaths. Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has appointed Verita to examine how the deaths are dealt with. The trust had 129 such deaths in 2014-15 – up from 61 […]

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EDP: Last mental health inpatient unit in West Norfolk under threat prompting fears over bed provision

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Nicholas Carding of the EDP reports: Bosses at the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) said they could not rule out closing the Fermoy Unit in King’s Lynn, because of problems with its design and safety. The unit is the only inpatient facility for mental-health patients in west Norfolk. Last month research by this

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EADT: Will new children’s mental health unit in Suffolk solve ‘deeply troubling’ problem of young people in adult wards?

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In another example of first-class investigative journalism, Andrew Hirst of the East Anglian Daily Times reports: Campaigners have welcomed plans for a new mental health unit for children in Suffolk after it emerged concerning numbers of young people from the region had been sent to adult wards – a practice described by one mother as

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BBC News: Mental health deaths in Norfolk and Suffolk prompts investigation

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BBC News reports: An NHS mental health trust has announced it is commissioning an investigation into the rising number of unexpected deaths of patients. The Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust had 129 such deaths (2014-15) – up from 61 (2012-13) and higher than other mental health trusts in the UK. Michael Scott, chief executive

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EDP: Let’s hope lives can be saved

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Another astonishingly powerful front page from Nicholas Carding, Health Correspondent of the Eastern Daily Press, as part of its Mental Health Watch campaign. Buy a copy of the EDP and support the high quality local investigative journalism which is so important to our campaign. The article isn’t available online but you can buy an E-edition

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EDP: Norfolk & Suffolk mental health trust launches ‘desperately needed’ probe into number of patient deaths

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Tom Bristow of the EDP reports: An independent inquiry into the rise of unexpected deaths at the region’s mental health trust will be carried out after it emerged figures for Norfolk and Suffolk were the highest in the country. The announcement came on the same day as we revealed there were a total of 35

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Audio: BBC Radio Norfolk: Matthew Gudgin interviews campaigner, Norman Lamb and Michael Scott about the shocking increase in unexpected deaths at NSFT

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Matthew Gudgin of the BBC interviews a spokesperson for our campaign, former mental health minister Norman Lamb and the Chief Executive of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), Michael Scott. It is brilliant that both the BBC and the EDP are giving mental health the attention it deserves. Now NHS England, local health commissioners

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EDP: “We are not surprised” – campaigners say as data shows highest number of unexpected deaths in Norfolk and Suffolk trust

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The Eastern Daily Press reports: The boss of Norfolk and Suffolk’s mental health trust has insisted the service is safe after “deeply distressing” data showing the highest number of “unexpected deaths” in the country, Michael Scott, chief executive of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Trust, said it would be a tragedy if people were being scared

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The Guardian: Number of mental health nurses falls 10%

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Denis Campbell of The Guardian reports: The number of specialist mental health nurses has fallen more than 10% over the past five years, the Guardian has learned, putting the care of rising numbers of patients at risk. The loss of one in 10 of the entire mental health nursing workforce in England has occurred mainly

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EDP Front Page Exclusive: Passed from Pillar to Post

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More excellent investigative reporting from Nicholas Carding of the EDP, showing how people in crisis from Norfolk and Suffolk are being transported across the country due to a chronic lack of beds. We’re deeply concerned that some people in crisis are not getting a hospital bed at all. Let’s not forget that NSFT and North

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EADT: Campaigner seeks answers after his mentally ill brother died alone in filthy Ipswich flat

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Andrew Hirst of the East Anglian Daily Times reports: More than a year after Steve Martin learned his mentally ill brother had died alone and amid filth and squalor, his quest for answers goes on. “A really good bloke, who’d do anything for a mate.” That’s how Steve Martin would like to remember his older

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itv News Anglia: Hundreds take to the streets of Norwich for mental health cuts protest

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Victoria Leggett of itv News Anglia reports: Hundreds of people took to the streets of Norwich today to protest against cuts to mental health services. The march was organised by Norfolk and Suffolk Mental Health Crisis, a campaign group set up by front-line health staff and people who rely on the support of the NHS.

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Mustard TV: Hundreds march through Norwich as campaigners call for better mental health services

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Click on the image below to watch Mark Summer’s excellent report for Mustard TV, Norfolk’s local television channel:

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Private Eye: Mental Health: Fatal Admission… and how the unexpected deaths at NSFT keep on increasing

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Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) plumbs the depths of infamy as the tragic and avoidable death of Christopher Higgins features in the current issue of Private Eye. The magazine cannot be read for free on the Internet but you can support investigative journalism by spending £1.80 on Issue 1409 at your local newsagent.

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EDP: Mother thought to have died from morphine overdose waited 12 days for mental health help

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George Ryan of the EDP reports: A woman who may have died from a morphine overdose had to wait 12 days for a mental health assessment after concerns were raised, an inquest heard. Sister Caroline Butler, who works on the ward, contacted the mental health referral team on December 18, 2014, as she was concerned

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Inquest into the death of Christopher Higgins concluded today: Coroner reports requesting changes to protect the lives of mental health patients in the future

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Christopher Higgins was a 36 year old man, who in the last few weeks of his life suffered from his first, but acute, mental breakdown. In those last weeks, his family tried every avenue to get Christopher the help he needed. Christopher’s mental state deteriorated significantly and in the early hours of 25 June 2013,

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EDP: ‘Tell my family I am sorry’ – the first words of mental health patient Christopher Higgins after fall which would prove fatal

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Dominic Gilbert of the EDP reports: The heartbreaking first words spoken by Christopher Higgins after he suffered what were to be fatal injuries in a fall at a mental health unit, have been heard at an inquest into his death. When he went to his aid, Mr Higgins said: “Tell my family I am sorry.”

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Kept in the Dark: NSFT’s Board won’t face the public as services go down the toilet

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We’ve raised the issue of members of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) Board sitting with their backsides to the public, sometimes not even turning around to answer direct questions from the public, before, as have others. It is discourteous. From the minutes of the NSFT Board meeting held on 22nd October, released

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Video: News Ways of Shirking: Couldn’t run a bath?

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The announcement of the new Director of Research is imminent. The favoured candidates are said to be involved with private hospitals, practice extensive ‘timeshifting’ and to enjoy astonishing salaries of between £150,000 and £250,000 per year from the NHS alone. Neither has a PhD. But both have defended the management of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS

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