EADT: Why are mental health problems rising in Suffolk?

In a major new piece of investigative journalism, David Powles of Archant reports: Huge increases in the number of children in Suffolk suffering from mental health problems were today laid bare – amid major concerns about the quality of services youngsters receive. Today, concerns were raised that help and support for children in Suffolk is […]

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Express and Star: Mental health patient spent 64 HOURS in police custody because there were no NHS beds in the country

The country has run out of mental health beds after the closure of more than two thousand NHS beds. The Express and Star reports: A mental health patient spent 64 hours in police custody, taking 22 officers off the streets and costing taxpayers’ £20,000 – because there were no available NHS beds in the entire country.

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EDP: ‘You seem to be a board that’s in denial’ – number of deaths rise at Norfolk and Suffolk mental health trust

An internal investigation has been launched into mental health services in Suffolk and Norfolk after the number of patient deaths increased from 95 to 130 in a year. It means that the average number of deaths, including in accidents and suicides by people known to professionals to be living with a mental health disorder, has

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EADT: Number of deaths among Suffolk and Norfolk mental health patients rises by a third in one year

Ellis Barker of the East Anglian Daily Times reports: An internal investigation has been launched into mental health services in Suffolk and Norfolk after the number of patient deaths increased from 95 to 130 in a year. It means the average number of deaths, including in accidents and suicides by people known to professionals to

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A funeral every ten days: Campaign statement on the increase in deaths in the community

“Ours is a moral campaign, founded in November 2013 by mental health staff deeply concerned about cuts and service closures at NSFT and what they believed was a cluster of preventable deaths caused by the so-called ‘radical redesign’ process. Those brave staff have been joined by more than two thousand users of mental health services,

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In NSFT’s words: Cuts not patient care drove early closure of Carlton Court beds

The premature discharge of patients and closure of Waveney Acute Services at Carlton Court, breaking the promise made by commissioners and Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), was driven by the desire to save money in the Cost Improvement Programme (CIP is an NHS euphemism for cuts), not patient care, as this internal NSFT

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Fantasy Island: The CQC Video Files: ‘Responsive’

Dedicated front line staff continued to do everything they could to offer a responsive service despite the cuts and chaos of the ‘radical redesign’. Their warnings and concerns were largely ignored by the arrogant and complacent management and Board of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) with appalling results. This ‘corporate video’ was made

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Fantasy Island: The CQC Video Files: ‘Caring’

Dedicated front line staff continued to do everything they could to offer a caring service despite the cuts and chaos of the ‘radical redesign’. This ‘corporate video’ was made in preparation for the visit of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). This visit, which resulted in an ‘Inadequate’

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Fantasy Island: The CQC Video Files: ‘Effective’

This ‘corporate video’ was made in preparation for the visit of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). This visit, which resulted in an ‘Inadequate’ rating and the NHS regulator, Monitor, placing NSFT into Special Measures, took place months after the completion of the interviews for the Alexander Report

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Fantasy Island: The CQC Video Files: ‘Safe’

This ‘corporate video’ was made in preparation for the visit of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). This visit, which resulted in an ‘Inadequate’ rating and the NHS regulator, Monitor, placing NSFT into Special Measures, took place months after the completion of the interviews for the Alexander Report

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EDP: Eight areas of concern found at one ward in Norfolk hospital

Nicholas Carding of the Eastern Daily Press reports: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found staff at Beach Ward, in Hammerton Court, Julian Hospital, Bowthorpe Road, Norwich, had carried out incomplete record-keeping, incomplete risk-assessments, and that there was a “poor compliance with mental capacity assessments.” Beach Ward, run by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT),

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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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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: Revealed: Damning contents of staff report into problems within Norfolk and Suffolk’s mental health trust

Campaign supporters should buy the EDP today. We need to support high-quality investigative journalism which has played a key role in holding Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) to account, as it did at Mid Staffs, in the absence of any meaningful response to the crisis in mental health services from the Department of

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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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