On the sixth day of Christmas, NSFT took away… dignity in old age

Scrooge 1951

Here’s the story ‘Harold’ wanted us to tell:

“Our Trust has already closed dementia and complexity in later life beds.  The idea appears sound: dementia intensive support teams will support people in their homes. Now that is all well and good for those who can be supported at home but sometimes it just isn’t possible and there are simply not enough beds or staff working in the community to make the system work. And, as always, cost-cutting takes priority over need and demonstrating that there is spare capacity to be closed. Here in Waveney, I heard an awful story about a person with dementia who needed an emergency admission during the night. But there were absolutely no beds anywhere. Wherever they looked, whoever they rang, there was no bed. In the end, a manager made the decision for them to go to the only place with any space: the 136 Custody Suite, which is supposed to be for use by the police rather than for the care of the elderly. I can’t believe we’re reduced to this. Staff did everything they could to maintain the person’s dignity but 136 Suites are really not supposed to be used for this. We shouldn’t be letting down people who have contributed to society for their entire working lives at their time of need towards the end of their lives.”

We’ve already written about the human impact of the closing of beds for dementia and complexity in older life in King’s Lynn. That husband’s dedication to his wife, witnessed by the CQC, is uplifting but should Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) be forcing people to endure this level of inconvenience at a time of family crisis? What about loving relatives who either cannot afford or are too frail to make long and expensive journeys? How can West Norfolk CCG and Great Yarmouth & Waveney CCG believe these are acceptable ways to treat local people?

NSFT’s own figures show that the number of beds for older people in Norfolk & Suffolk is already 29.8% below the national average. We live in a strange world where CCGs claim to believe in local accountability but not the provision of local beds.

Scroll to Top