Troubled mental health trust has made improvements

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust "requires improvement", but inspectors said the organisation was "well led"

An NHS mental health trust has made improvements, but is still four percentage points short of being rated "good" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has been criticised by patient groups and health inspectors for failings over several years, leading it to be put in special measures.

The latest report rates it as "requires improvement", with the service overall being rated 59% "good". The "good" rating triggers at 63 percentage points.

NSFT chair Zoe Billingham said: "This is a strong report for the trust which contains some real positives. It recognises significant areas of improvement, and we are on the cusp of being rated 'good'."

The NSFT has invested in new facilities at Hellesdon Hospital, but said it had also invested in staff which has improved recruitment and retention

Stuart Dunn, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said the NSFT management had been told where further improvements were needed, including maintaining stability and improving accountability.

It also highlighted issues in staff having trust in managers to deal with complaints and racism in the workplace. The NSFT said it had implemented changes to bring improvements.

Mr Dunn added: "We found leaders had started to make significant progress in areas such as board stability, management and engagement with people who use services.

"However, more is needed to ensure improvements are embedded and delivered consistently across the organisation.

"Staff told us they felt services were starting to improve. However, many also said senior leaders weren't always visible or approachable, and they didn't always feel confident that concerns would be listened to or acted upon.

"We continued to hear about some poor experiences of workplace culture, including issues around discrimination and feeling unable to speak up. Trust leaders were aware of this and were taking action in response."

Caroline Donovan, chief executive of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said it was found to be "well led" for the first time in years

Chief executive Caroline Donovan said the NSFT was "the most inspected mental health trust in the country" [England and Wales], having been inspected eight times in 10 years.

"Of course it was slightly disappointing [to be rated "requires improvement"] as we would like an overall 'good' rating," she said.

"Clearly the CQC looked at all of our processes in terms of how we learn from deaths; something the trust hasn't historically done very well... and were really pleased we were working with families and learning from experiences.

"Overall they [CQC inspectors] saw a real pattern of improvement [in all areas] and it's something we are really proud of and it is important we really sustain that improvement.

"It's the first time the trust have sustained the improvement... and our crisis services were literally on the cusp of 'good'. That's really important."

NSFT chair Zoe Bellingham said the trust was "not complacent"

Zoe Billingham added: "I am delighted that the CQC recognised the significant improvements.

"We are not complacent, and we continue to work closely with our service users, families, carers and partners across Norfolk and Suffolk, to make sure our local communities receive the safer, kinder and better mental health services they rightly deserve."