Norfolk and Suffolk mental health trust paid PR firm extra £49k

The trust has been rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission four times in six years

A mental health trust which was criticised for paying a public relations firm £800,000, spent a further £49,000 with the company, the BBC can reveal.

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) agreed a contract with the PR firm while it worked to improve its "inadequate" rating from inspectors.

NSFT said it used the firm Hood & Woolf at "a time of great need".

A mental health campaigner said the total figure was "shocking".

"They keep talking about wanting to restore public confidence and restore their reputation," said Emma Corlett, who is also an independent county councillor in Norfolk.

"The best way of doing that is to be upfront and honest."

Lost track

The trust has been rated "inadequate" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) four times in six years.

Last month, the BBC reported that the trust paid the PR consultancy firm more than £800,000.

The latest documents published by the trust showed it paid a further £48,708.78 for work carried out in September.

It said that, in total, it spent £863,463.63 with Hood & Woolf for one year's work.

During that period, a review was published which said the trust had lost track of its figures for patient deaths, and its chief executive left the organisation in September.

Emma Corlett said she felt the amount spent by the mental health trust was "shocking"

Ms Corlett added: "If there's nothing to report, and only positive stories, that is the best way not to pay some private company hundreds of thousands of public money to manage their reputation."

NSFT said its contract with the firm ended on 30 September.

A spokesman said the trust did not provide the total money spent previously because its final payment was being "processed at the time".

"Once approved the spend was published on our public facing website," he added.

Steph Hood, director of Hood & Woolf, added: "We gave extensive support to the trust during a period of immense change, including helping the leadership team to talk publicly and openly about challenging issues, including patient safety."