Health trust improves but concerns remain - report

The trust must submit an action plan on how it will address the remaining issues, the CQC said

A mental health trust once rated the worst in the country has shown improvement in some of its services, with further progress needed, according to its latest inspection.

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) was lifted out of special measures in February after more than seven years, and rated as "requires improvement".

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has since inspected the trust's community services for adults and rated it as good, while crisis services remained at "requires improvement" - with ongoing concerns around emergency referrals and staffing.

Caroline Donovan, chief executive of NSFT, said the CQC reports were "the most positive our trust has received in a decade".

Caroline Donovan said the trust recognised it had more to do

The trust, which is headquartered in Hellesdon, near Norwich, was the first of its type to receive extra support in 2015.

The grade was removed the following year, but the trust returned to special measures in 2017 because of its poor performance.

Its overall rating remains at "requires improvement" following the inspection in March, with both service areas having last been inspected in 2023.

The CQC found previous breaches had been addressed, including physical health checks, access to crisis services, and staff training.

But within crisis services, inspectors found it took an average of six minutes to answer 111 mental health crisis calls, which is almost two minutes above the national average.

Dedication of staff

Inspectors also found staff shortages were still a concern, despite some recent recruitment.

Improvements had been made, included introducing a 24/7 urgent helpline, but the service still did not always assess emergency referrals within four hours, in line with national standards, it added.

Feedback was "mostly positive" about staff attitudes and behaviours, and most people felt safe, understood and involved, the CQC found.

At community services for adults, which had improved from "requires improvement", people described staff as caring, respectful and inclusive.

People felt safe and were confident to raise concerns, but the CQC also found staff did not always share care plans or risk management plans.

NSFT Crisis Campaign, which seeks to improve the service, said in a statement it was "the first time in a long time the trust is not going backwards", but said this was down to "scaffolding" from NHS England and the CQC.

"The campaign still has great worries about the scale of change that needs to happen at the trust for it to at least operate as a safe and effective service," it added.

Ms Donovan said the reports were testament to the dedication of its hardworking staff, who had "focussed relentlessly on improvements".

"We are proud that these reports have acknowledged significant improvements we have made," she added.

"However, we also recognise we have more to do to ensure we are consistently providing safer, kinder and better services to everyone who needs our support."