Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) will overspend on compulsory and voluntary redundancies by a staggering 52.1% this financial year. That means it has spent £2.5 million pounds more than it has in its budget on redundancies. £2.5 million is enough to pay for an additional ten hospital beds for two years or safely-staffed […]
Campaign has achieved its first result! Terry Skyrme, of the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk and a crisis resolution team member at NSFT, said mental health services locally were in “dire crisis” and said 19 patients were placed outside of the two counties two weeks ago and eight of
The original pdf version can be downloaded here. A contribution to Norfolk County Council’s Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee from the Campaign to save Mental Health Services in Norfolk & Suffolk January 2014 “Worldly wisdom teaches that it is better for reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally” John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory
HOSC: What has gone wrong with the ‘radical redesign? at NSFT Read More »
Read the full story by clicking on the image below:
EDP: Mental health trust urged to halt bed closure plans Read More »
Emma Corlett says: “The whole point of the campaign was that people were brave enough to come forward and talk about their experiences. So for someone to come forward and say it is not true is quite offensive. We are keen for them [NSFT] to engage with the campaign and hear from people the reality
EADT: Mental health campaigners hit back over cuts (and NSFT insults Campaign again) Read More »
Gary Page, NSFT Chair, emailed all NSFT staff on 10th January 2014: “Dear Colleagues, As the first working week of the New Year ends, I wanted to share with you my reflections on last year and hopes for 2014. I know 2013 was difficult for many staff and the Trust overall. Implementation of the Service
Campaign sets the agenda as Gary Page, NSFT Chair, emails all Trust staff Read More »
You can download the original leaflet in pdf format to print or distribute. MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ARE IN SEVERE CRISIS: cuts to psychiatric beds, so that patients are being admitted hundreds of miles away from home staff cuts to community and crisis teams, so that patients in the community are not receiving the care they need key
‘Sarah’ tell us her experiences: I have worked for the NHS for over 30 years and have been a union health and safety representative for almost as long. My role is to try to ensure that Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) is a safe and secure place for everyone who works and receives
On the twelfth day of Christmas, the cuts took away… health & safety Read More »
We have been contacted by a number of people who have concerns about the level of support available from drug and alcohol services, run by Norfolk Recovery Partnership (NRP) since April 2013. These are the views of “Matt & Tina”, two users of the services provided by NRP: “We are currently being asked to give feedback
It can be terrifying to work in NSFT’s medium secure facilities at the moment. ‘Fred’ tells us what it is like: “The cuts have been having a worsening impact upon secure services. There have been ward closures and staffing cuts in forensic psychiatry too. This is my story. Recently, the working environment has started to get
On the tenth day of Christmas, NSFT said… ‘Welcome to Hell’ Read More »
‘Maggie’ writes: “What a great start to the New Year! Cost cutting will, without fanfare, remove freshly-cooked food from the wards and take away the opportunity for patients, staff and relatives to buy a hot meal at Hellesdon Hospital in Norwich by shutting the canteen this month. It is being ‘replaced’ by ‘airline meals’ and
On the ninth day of Christmas, the cuts took away… decent food Read More »
Here ‘Mary’ and ‘Jo’ tell their story of the ‘radical redesign’: “We have worked in Early Intervention (EI) in psychosis for nearly twenty years between us. EI is our passion, it has a strong evidence base and it is the service that all have a right to, regardless of where they live. Early Intervention in
This is the appalling situation ‘Florence’ and her colleagues feel should be urgently exposed to public scrutiny: “As I finished my shift this week, our team was tearing its hair out trying to sort an awful situation. We had a call from the parent of a young person, currently an inpatient but home on leave.
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
On the sixth day of Christmas, NSFT took away… dignity in old age Read More »
This is the story ‘Sally’ wanted us to tell: There has been a lot of press coverage about the lack of beds, but this usually refers to beds needed in a crisis or following a Mental Health Act assessment. My colleagues and I in community teams have been dealing with another, almost hidden, consequence of
The EDP claims that the CCGs have decided to refuse any ‘significant’ increase in funding for mental health services despite the crisis and increasing demand. Read the usual excuses by clicking the image below. Or discover the human cost of inadequate mental health services in our 12 Cuts of Christmas campaign. Why not ask your GP
EDP: GPs refuse to increase funding despite mental health crisis Read More »
This is the powerful story ‘Dave’ wants us to share: I am supporting the campaign because it’s about time someone had the courage to speak out. I used to work in one of the crisis teams until recently. I had to transport a patient to a private hospital after being assessed and of course no
On the fourth day of Christmas, the cuts took away… beds but not humanity Read More »
We’ve spoken to the Trust, to clinical commissioning groups, to Norman Lamb. They all blame each other and say the situation isn’t their responsibility… meanwhile people who use our services and staff are caught in the middle and bearing the brunt Listen on the hour on BBC Suffolk. Read about stories from our 12 Cuts
BBC Radio Suffolk: 12 Cuts of Christmas campaign is lead news story Read More »
NSFT director Graham Creelman said ‘this is a developing national crisis in mental health’ at the NSFT Board meeting in Bury St Edmunds lobbied by this campaign this month. Now, Gary Page again claims this isn’t a crisis but ‘unforeseen problems.’ However. front-line staff have been warning about these ‘unforeseen problems’ for more than a
EADT: Suffolk: Mental health boss rejects crisis claims (again) Read More »
My name is “Sarah”. I’m a band 3 community support worker. I love my job. But I can barely afford to come to work, and fear I may have to give up my job supporting service users in a predominantly rural area. I can’t see how anyone could afford to do the job that NSFT
On the third day of Christmas… NSFT threatens rural services through low pay Read More »
