Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust - Norwich

Dana Y.

NHS Mental health failed my daughter diabolically. As did caffcas and social. They are all in each others pockets playing God with people's lives! The only good thing is my daughter is still here. Not through any help or care from them. The very people who are meant to be at the forefront of compassion and caring.

Macca P.

NSFT continually fails people day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year and it’s completely unacceptable.

I personally endured and experienced more than 4 years of medical negligence and misdiagnosis of physical injuries, which resulted in reconstructive surgeries over 18 months once I finally received the correct diagnosis. By that time the damage was done and I lost my career of 11 and-a-half years due to being physically incapable and not being able to give my employer any medical reasons as to why, or what was wrong.

NSFT also failed to provide me with any meaningful, relevant or suitable mental health help or support for more than 19 years, despite many GP referrals for help, as well a psychiatric assessment in 2015 following multiple attempts to take my own life over the years, but which has since mysteriously ’disappeared’.

However, after finally receiving a mental health assessment in 2023, I recently discovered from third party providers that NSFT’s Community Mental Health Team never made (or expedited) the referrals they stated in letters they had.

After doing a Subject Access Request, I also discovered an internal note stating they had realised the aforementioned psychiatric report had somehow “disappeared’ from their system, but they claim to have no idea how, why or when this happened?

Lives continue to needlessly be lost as a result of their ineptitude, lack of organisation and failure to update and maintain patients records accurately. This is supported in CEO Caroline Donovan’s own ‘Improving Together’ monthly blog (22 July 2024) which details a damning Coroner’s report stating 14 deaths of people under their care were preventable and avoidable.

This was backed up further by a Quality Care Commission report, which uncovered 115 ‘unexpected or potentially avoidable deaths reported over a two year period’. The report also highlighted clear themes, including poor understanding, poor record keeping and weak communication.

One further report also found more than 8,000 mental health patients had died unexpectedly in Norfolk and Suffolk between 2019 and 2022. This is defined as the death of a patient who has not been identified as critically ill or whose death is not expected by the clinical team.

New evidence, based on 38 coroners' prevention of future death (PFD) reports since 2013, suggests there were repeated warnings more patients could die unless safety issues were addressed, including:
- dangerously poor record-keeping and communication
- family concerns being ignored
- unsafe levels of staffing at the trust.

In her same blog dated 22 July 2024, CEO Caroline Donovan states, “At the heart of the improvement plan is an essential need to improve care and improve the culture in NSFT”, but sadly to date, these remain empty words to me, because despite people from third party organisations trying to help me by contacting NSFT and the Community Mental Health Team asking them to support and help me, the CMHT responded by discharging me from their service, with a handwritten note, signed off ‘with compliments’, clearly stating their reason for this action was due to contact from a third party.

Furthermore, the £800,000 spent on a public relations company doesn’t appear to have paid dividends and brought any tangible benefits or rewards.

Sadly, and has been well documented, I have to ask why Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust have been allowed to continue providing a woefully inadequate and unfit for purpose practice for so long?

How has this been allowed to happen?
Why has this been allowed to happen?

Furthermore, lost medical reports, divisive and detrimental comments, failure to expedite referrals, etc etc!

Sadly, I’m not the only one. This is just a summary of my own experiences but I fear many 1,000s of others have sadly had similar experiences… but this dire service has to stop! I shall continue to highlight these issues in an effort to ensure no one else ever has to endure a long wait to receive the rightful help, support and care they need.

T M.

Truly shocking, they simply seem so unable to achieve anything, this is a child and the arrogance and ignorance shown by all is shocking, please understand if we start treating you differently now, utter scam, AI can pick the phone up, AI can respond in a reasonable time frame, just saying you put in a letter if we want support to use an advocacy, NO I'm happy to deal with AI moving forward if you can't do what's required there are other options available, enough treating patients and parents like something you stood in.

BrisingerUK

This disgrace of a foundation has treated me with contempt, mismanagement and neglect. I wasn't even told that my support workerhad a stroke and left me with no care for 6 months before I asked what
was happening. When I made a complaint, it mysteriously went missing when I emailed the manager for one of the departments because, in his words, "email me if you need any help", to withdraw myself from their services, the reply was that of a politician with the words "I'm sorry you feel that way". I thought this foundation had my back but after 5+ years, the only practical help I got was an Occupational Therapy report. That's it. I would really hope that someone from NSFT is reading this because you people are a disgrace. You can try and blame short staff and whatever but that doesn't excuse filling me with false hope time and time and time and time and time again to dash them and leave an already broken man feeling subhuman. You people are incompetent and dangerous to the very people you claim to try and help.

T P.

Whilst there are some members of staff who work diligently to support those with mental health conditions, there is a complete lack of correspondence and communication between clinicians and patients.

I waited over 2 years to receive any kind of support from this service which indicates the standard of care is grossly inadequate. Despite receiving some form of treatment now, I am still awaiting contact from an employment service which I was recently referred to.

A P.

This organisation are not fit for purpose. Even after all the deaths they're responsible for they've learnt zero lessons.

These people are dangerous for peoples already poor mental health.

In special measures for the fourth time since 2015. They've pretty much been in special measures since then.

I'm sure they'll be responsible for further deaths due to their lack of care towards people.

They're now telling suicidal people to go to the local council for help, which out even speaking to the person concerned. These people are dangerous. How many more deaths do we have to see before we have a decent mental health service in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Andrew B.

I would give 0 ⭐️ if I could . I saw a mental health practitioner from here at Acle medical centre . She was rude unsympathetic and did not allow me to speak constantly interrupting me with the only question she seemed to know which was why. It took all my effort to keep a calmness to my tone as I thanked her for her time and left the room. I will not seek any medical help for mental health from the nhs moving forward. The experience has left me without a doubt this organisation holds not one single care for the mental health of men and I shall never approach any government organisation for help with this again . My advice is to trust your freinds and family and above all god . The nhs and this trust have but one suggestion for men’s mental health sedate them with medication and if you don’t wish to follow their narrative blindly then they waste your time until you give up and leave

Tigga

My review seems to have disappeared so I’ll write it again. I told these people to NEVER contact me ever again and blocked them. Absolutely rubbish. Life endangeringly bad. AVOID. I will never bother to ask for help with my mental health again no matter how bad it is, because any contact with this lot only makes it WORSE.