Kept in the Dark: Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) tries to hide the devastating impact of the ‘radical redesign’

Bed Crisis, Campaigning, Community Crisis, Crisis Team Crisis, Dangerous, Financial crisis, Kept in the dark, NSFT Cuts, Questions for the Board, Recruitment Crisis / By

Our decision to publish the chain of emails between our campaign and Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) finally forced a response from Michael Scott, the £175,000 per year Chief Executive of NSFT, on 30th April 2015. We submitted our original FOI request in December 2014. NSFT is supposed to respond in 20 days.

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Kept in the Dark: NHS England believes gossip and secrecy more important than public safety and transparency

Campaigning, CQC Inspection, Kept in the dark, NSFT Cuts, Questions for the Board, Special Measures / By

We originally wrote to NHS England in September 2014 – more than seven months ago. Firstly, we wanted to discover what the chief architect of the radical redesign and Operations Director (Norfolk) of Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) was doing after Michael Scott emailed staff announcing her promotion to work for Geraldine Strathdee,

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

Bed Crisis, Community Crisis, Crisis Team Crisis, Dangerous, Financial crisis, NSFT Cuts, Questions for the Board, Recruitment Crisis, Section 75, Special Measures / By

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.

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

Kept in the dark, Questions for the Board / By

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

Community Crisis, CQC Inspection, Dangerous, Financial crisis, NSFT Cuts, Press, Questions for the Board, Special Measures / By

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

Bed Crisis, CAMHS Crisis, Dangerous, NSFT Cuts, Press, Questions for the Board / By

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

Bed Crisis, CAMHS Crisis, Clozapine Crisis, Community Crisis, CQC Inspection, Crisis Team Crisis, Dangerous, Financial crisis, NSFT Cuts, Press, Questions for the Board / By

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

Bed Crisis, CAMHS Crisis, Campaigning, Cartoons, Community Crisis, CQC Inspection, Crisis Team Crisis, Declaration of Interests, Financial crisis, NSFT Cuts, PR Crisis, Questions for the Board, Recruitment Crisis, Special Measures / By

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

Bed Crisis, CAMHS Crisis, Campaigning, Community Crisis, CQC Inspection, Crisis Team Crisis, Mind the Gap, NSFT Cuts, Sister campaigns, Special Measures / By

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

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The Times: Officials seize control of shamed trust

Bed Crisis, Community Crisis, CQC Inspection, Dangerous, Financial crisis, NSFT Cuts, Press, Questions for the Board, Recruitment Crisis, Special Measures / By

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

Campaigning, Dangerous, NSFT Cuts, Questions for the Board, Recruitment Crisis / By

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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BBC News: Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust failed to act on 258 recommendations

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Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: A mental health trust failed to act on 258 recommendations from 98 reviews into serious incidents, such as patient deaths, a report has revealed. Former Norfolk coroner William Armstrong said the trust’s failure to act was a “serious concern”. Serious incident reviews take place after there are unexpected or

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BBC News: Norfolk and Suffolk health trust in special measures

Bed Crisis, CAMHS Crisis, Community Crisis, CQC Inspection, Crisis Team Crisis, Dangerous, Financial crisis, NSFT Cuts, Press, Questions for the Board, Recruitment Crisis, Special Measures / By

Nic Rigby of the BBC reports: A mental health trust has become the first in England to be put in special measures. NHS regulator Monitor will send a team to take over the management of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. The decision comes after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) reported that the trust was

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EDP: Norfolk’s mental health service put in special measures

Bed Crisis, CAMHS Crisis, Community Crisis, CQC Inspection, Crisis Team Crisis, Dangerous, Financial crisis, NSFT Cuts, Press, Questions for the Board, Recruitment Crisis, s136 Crisis, Special Measures / By

Tom Bristow of the EDP reports: Special measures will see the appointment of an “improvement director” to provide expertise and hold the trust to account, and arranging a partnership with a high-performing trust. Monitor has also imposed a new condition on NSFT’s licence, enabling the regulator to take further action, such as replacing members of

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Campaign Statement on Monitor putting NSFT into Special Measures

Bed Crisis, CAMHS Crisis, Community Crisis, CQC Inspection, Crisis Team Crisis, Dangerous, Financial crisis, NSFT Cuts, Questions for the Board, Special Measures / By

NSFT becoming the first mental health trust to be put into special measures was inevitable following the damning CQC inspection and the financial black hole. Our main concern is that service users and frontline staff are not made to pay the price of the NSFT Board’s wasted millions with further cuts to already inadequate services.

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Daily Telegraph: Whistleblowing: NHS crushes those who speak out, Sir Robert Francis QC warns

Bed Crisis, Campaigning, Community Crisis, CQC Inspection, Crisis Team Crisis, Dangerous, Financial crisis, Kept in the dark, Mutualisation, NSFT Cuts, PR Crisis, Questions for the Board / By

Laura Donnelly of the Daily Telegraph reports: Sir Robert believes that many of the worst failings in the NHS occur when clinical staff become powerless — are left “shrugging their shoulders” rather than challenging poor care. As he made a public call for evidence, he told The Telegraph that he feared too many had been hounded out

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Community Care: Vulnerable man was failed by two NHS trusts days before he died, finds watchdog

Bed Crisis, Community Crisis, Crisis Team Crisis, NSFT Cuts, Press, Questions for the Board / By

Andy McNicoll reports: A man who had expressed suicidal thoughts was failed by two NHS trusts in the days before he was found dead in a river, an investigation by the health service ombudsman has found. Stephen Foster, 48, was found dead on 23 June 2011. Today, the ombudsman published the findings of an investigation

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EADT Editorial: A sad lesson in how to get it so very, very wrong

Bed Crisis, CAMHS Crisis, Clozapine Crisis, Community Crisis, CQC Inspection, Crisis Team Crisis, Dangerous, Financial crisis, NSFT Cuts, Press, Questions for the Board / By

A sad lesson in how to get it so very, very wrong So, those who suggested the emperor was parading naked, and not clad in new finery, have been proved right. The very birth of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust was accompanied by a chorus of warnings: about jobs; about finance; and – crucially – about care. Critics

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