Campaign’s evidence to Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) of Norfolk County Council on 16th April 2015

On 16th April, the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee of Norfolk County Council held a meeting to review the disastrous ‘radical redesign‘ at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). The Chief Executive of NSFT, Michael Scott, was accompanied by the Operations Director (Norfolk), Debbie White, and the Locality Operations Manager in West Norfolk, Marcus Hayward. […]

Campaign’s evidence to Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) of Norfolk County Council on 16th April 2015 Read More »

Kept in the Dark: Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) ignores the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act

What is it like trying to obtain information from Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT)? Public bodies have a statutory duty to respond within twenty working days which means we should have received a response to the request below in the middle of January. We have yet to receive a response from NSFT after more

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Mirror: Another Tory government will lead to a mental health services crisis, warn top health staff

Jason Beattie of the Daily Mirror reports: In a letter to the Daily Mirror more than 100 mental health workers say the Coalition have conducted a “sustained and vicious” attack on frontline services. “We believe that this has put any member of the public with mental health needs at serious risk. “We cannot continue to

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BBC News: Increased use puts pressure on Norfolk and Waveney mental health trust

Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: A 38% increase in mental health patients referred to an NHS Trust has hit waiting times, a report has found. The increase in the Norfolk and Waveney area in the December 2014 to February 2015 period – compared with April to June 2014 – resulted in higher staff caseload

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EDP: Norfolk children’s services boss reveals ‘scandal’ over mental health beds for young people

More important campaigning journalism from our local newspaper, the EDP: Norfolk’s children’s services boss has revealed a lack of available mental health beds for youngsters meant she had to create a makeshift unit in a children’s home, so a 17-year-old could get desperately needed care. And Sheila Lock said a 13-year-old spent a weekend in

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The Guardian: Norman Lamb accuses mental health campaigners of trolling him

The Liberal Democrat care minister, Norman Lamb, has accused mental health campaigners in his North Norfolk constituency of trolling him on Twitter. Lamb, who promotes himself as a champion for mental health awareness, was responding to tweets from the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk & Suffolk which called him duplicitous and said

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Community Care: Mental health trust funding down 8% from 2010 despite coalition’s drive for parity of esteem

Norman Lamb called our campaign ‘mental health extremists‘ for simply pointing out that Norman Lamb claims to be a mental health champion whilst cutting mental health funding and services. Now the £600 million’s worth of Norman Lamb’s duplicity is clear for all to see. What kind of ‘drive for parity of esteem’ results in the

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No More Daves: Campaign scores important victory as Suffolk Coroner decides inquest is necessary

We’ve supported campaign member Steve Martin’s demand for an inquest into the circumstances of his brother’s death in squalor without hot water or heating in Ipswich whilst under the care of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). David Martin’s untimely death at only 52 has been featured by BBC Look East and has appeared

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EDP: Norfolk and Suffolk mental health chief’s salary soars by £35,000 to £175,000 – as service faces stringent budget cuts

Lauren Cope of the EDP reports: A mental health service under severe financial strain raised the salary of its chief executive by £35,000 – as its frontline NHS staff dealt with tough pay cuts. It has faced stringent budget cuts, with the average pay steadily falling from £26,557 in 2010/11 to £21,761 in 2013/14 –

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Pay of Chief Executive of Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) increased by a quarter in the midst of mental health crisis

The average salary of staff at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) fell by £4,796 (18%) in just three years from £26,557 to £21,761 between 2011 and 2014. Mental health services were trashed as part of the failed ‘radical redesign’ which resulted in NSFT being rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Monitor

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Mind the Gap: Mental health charity Mind excludes election candidate, mental health service user and disability campaigner, Mick Hardy, from its mental health election panel

We’ve just receives this shocking press release from Mick Hardy, prospective parliamentary candidate in Norwich North for the Dandy Party and a founder member of the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk: Mental health charity Mind excludes election candidate, mental health service user and disability campaigner, Mick Hardy, from its mental

Mind the Gap: Mental health charity Mind excludes election candidate, mental health service user and disability campaigner, Mick Hardy, from its mental health election panel Read More »

The Times: Officials seize control of shamed trust

Bizarrely, this report leaves The Guardian as the only quality daily newspaper which has not reported on the crisis at Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). For how long can what many regard as the natural newspaper of the caring professions ignore what is going on the constituency of the minister responsible for mental

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Ipswich Star: Mental health bosses will make their case as they bid for the funding they are “entitled to”

Today, members of the Campaign attended the NSFT Board meeting in Ipswich. Matt Bunn of the Ipswich Star reports: Bosses at the trust running mental health services in Suffolk have pledged to fight for their “fair share” of funding as they bid to turn round the fortunes of the organisation. The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS

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Lobby NSFT Board of Directors Meeting: Thursday 26th February 2015, 0915, IP-City Centre, 1 Bath St, Ipswich IP2 8SD

It is vital that we keep up the pressure on the NSFT Board to secure proper funding and deliver real improvements, especially given the financial crisis, hundreds of unallocated cases and unimplemented recommendations from serious incident reviews, the collapse of staff morale as demonstrated by the NHS Staff Survey 2014 and Monitor’s decision to put

Lobby NSFT Board of Directors Meeting: Thursday 26th February 2015, 0915, IP-City Centre, 1 Bath St, Ipswich IP2 8SD Read More »

BBC News: More than 800 Norfolk mental health patients ‘unallocated’

Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: More than 800 vulnerable mental health patients in Norfolk have not been assigned care workers due to staffing shortages, a report has revealed. The 839 unallocated cases at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust include 139 youth team cases. Unison said services at the trust had been “savagely cut”.

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Monitor secures extra help for Norfolk and Suffolk to improve services and strengthen leadership

The health regulator has appointed Alan Yates as Improvement Director at the trust. Alan has over 27 years NHS experience, over half of which he has spent working for mental health trusts. Alan is employed by Monitor, but is based at the trust in a part-time capacity. He will work alongside the trust’s leadership, providing

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NHS Staff Survey 2014 – Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) is worst performing mental health trust in England – official

These results are appalling. They are not only bottom quartile, they are bottom quartile of the bottom quartile, absolutely the worst of the worst. Overall staff engagement – NSFT is worst of the 57 mental health trusts in England by miles – even worse than last year Staff motivation at work – NSFT is worst of

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