RSA Norwich: The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

Terry Skyrme reflects on the recent RSA mental health event in Norwich: “Campaign supporters held a protest outside an event organized by the RSA at St Michael’s church in Norwich. Speakers at the event represented the “Third sector” and other mainstream services such as Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), the main provider of […]

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The Norwich Radical: The Elephant in the Room: Norfolk’s Mental Health Crisis

Hannah Rose reports in The Norwich Radical from the recent RSA event: Instead, I was perturbed by the oddly formal sense of occasion — cheese and wine were offered on arrival — and I was given instructions to mingle. I had the distinct feeling that I was definitely at the wrong meeting. Only around fifty chairs

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NSFT – A Warning from History: Unexpected deaths: 2013 vs 2016: Has anything changed?

Compare what Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) claimed in 2013 with what NSFT claims in 2016. What has changed except that NSFT suffered 45 unexpected deaths in the first three months of 2016 compared with 22 per quarter in 2012-13? While the number of deaths has doubled, the excuses remain the same. Most

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Help: Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspecting NSFT in July 2016

CQC, the independent regulator of health, mental health and adult social care in England will be inspecting Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust the week beginning the 11th July.  They would like to hear feedback about mental health services before the inspection. There are a number of ways people can feedback their views (CQC are

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Kept in the Dark: Daily Gazette: ‘inquest… to be adjourned after finding out the professions of two NHS workers were not as they had understood.”

The Daily Gazette and Essex County Standard reports: AN inquest into the sudden death of a teenager has been adjourned as new information has come to light. Harriet Philo-Powell died suddenly aged 18 at the end of February. Miss Philo-Powell’s family, who live in Bulmer, near Halstead, asked for the inquest into her death to

Kept in the Dark: Daily Gazette: ‘inquest… to be adjourned after finding out the professions of two NHS workers were not as they had understood.” Read More »

Protest: RSA: “Throwing money we don’t have at a problem that just won’t go away is not the answer.”

Tomorrow evening, on Tuesday 7th June 2016, we will be protesting at the failure to invite service users, carers and professionals to an event the purpose of which is said to be finding ‘affordable, innovative new solutions’ to mental health. We will be assembling outside St Michael at Plea in Norwich from 5.45 p.m. A

Protest: RSA: “Throwing money we don’t have at a problem that just won’t go away is not the answer.” Read More »

Invitation: 6th June 2016: Meeting with NSFT about unexpected deaths at 6 p.m. today at Hellesdon Hospital

We’re meeting the Director of Nursing, Jane Sayer, and the Medical Director, Bohdan Solomka, of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) to discuss the extremely disappointing report into the alarming increase in unexpected deaths at NSFT to a record number. Worse still, the number of unexpected deaths continues to rise but NSFT remains complacent: there

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BBC News: Norfolk & Suffolk trust records its highest number of unexpected mental health deaths

The BBC reports: An NHS mental health service, which was the first in England to be placed in special measures, has recorded its highest number of unexpected deaths. Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) recorded 157 deaths in 2014-15, compared to 88 deaths in 2012-13. Verita, which the trust instructed to carry out the investigation,

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Yet another death: Enough is enough

Today, another young women has died after Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) ignored her family’s desperate pleas for help. Yet another ‘unexpected death‘ to add to the statistics. Yet another inquest. For how much longer can the NHS be allowed to let down families in East Anglia in their hours of greatest need?

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EDP: “We are long way off parity of esteem” – shadow mental health minister Luciana Berger hits out at government during visit to region

Nicholas Carding of the Eastern Daily Press reports on our meeting with Luciana Berger, Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health and Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South: A senior politician today said parity of esteem is still not occuring within the NHS. Ms Berger, MP for Liverpool Wavertree, met with members of Save Mental Health

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Monitor: NSFT placed 223rd in NHS Learning from Mistakes League table

The regulators of NHS trusts, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority, have published their Learning from Mistakes League table. The Chief Executive of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), Michael Scott, has repeatedly tried to explain unexpected patient deaths nearly tripling by claiming that NSFT is a ‘high reporter’ with an open culture:

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itv NEWS Anglia: Are mental health services in the East improving?

Victoria Lampard of itv NEWS Anglia reports: Sophie Liddament’s friend in Norfolk was eventually admitted to hospital for treatment but she says it took five suicide attempts in one week to get her there. “The last one left her fighting for her life. I was like I can’t do this anymore. You’re just going to go

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BBC News: Mental health deaths in Norfolk and Suffolk prompts investigation

BBC News reports: An NHS mental health trust has announced it is commissioning an investigation into the rising number of unexpected deaths of patients. The Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust had 129 such deaths (2014-15) – up from 61 (2012-13) and higher than other mental health trusts in the UK. Michael Scott, chief executive

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EDP: Let’s hope lives can be saved

Another astonishingly powerful front page from Nicholas Carding, Health Correspondent of the Eastern Daily Press, as part of its Mental Health Watch campaign. Buy a copy of the EDP and support the high quality local investigative journalism which is so important to our campaign. The article isn’t available online but you can buy an E-edition

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EDP: Norfolk & Suffolk mental health trust launches ‘desperately needed’ probe into number of patient deaths

Tom Bristow of the EDP reports: An independent inquiry into the rise of unexpected deaths at the region’s mental health trust will be carried out after it emerged figures for Norfolk and Suffolk were the highest in the country. The announcement came on the same day as we revealed there were a total of 35

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Audio: BBC Radio Norfolk: Matthew Gudgin interviews campaigner, Norman Lamb and Michael Scott about the shocking increase in unexpected deaths at NSFT

Matthew Gudgin of the BBC interviews a spokesperson for our campaign, former mental health minister Norman Lamb and the Chief Executive of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), Michael Scott. It is brilliant that both the BBC and the EDP are giving mental health the attention it deserves. Now NHS England, local health commissioners

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EDP: “We are not surprised” – campaigners say as data shows highest number of unexpected deaths in Norfolk and Suffolk trust

The Eastern Daily Press reports: The boss of Norfolk and Suffolk’s mental health trust has insisted the service is safe after “deeply distressing” data showing the highest number of “unexpected deaths” in the country, Michael Scott, chief executive of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Trust, said it would be a tragedy if people were being scared

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EADT: Campaigner seeks answers after his mentally ill brother died alone in filthy Ipswich flat

Andrew Hirst of the East Anglian Daily Times reports: More than a year after Steve Martin learned his mentally ill brother had died alone and amid filth and squalor, his quest for answers goes on. “A really good bloke, who’d do anything for a mate.” That’s how Steve Martin would like to remember his older

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Private Eye: Mental Health: Fatal Admission… and how the unexpected deaths at NSFT keep on increasing

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) plumbs the depths of infamy as the tragic and avoidable death of Christopher Higgins features in the current issue of Private Eye. The magazine cannot be read for free on the Internet but you can support investigative journalism by spending £1.80 on Issue 1409 at your local newsagent.

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