Norfolk and Suffolk mental health campaigners 'not listened to'

Emma Corlett, Caroline Aldridge and Anne Humphrys said they felt they had been treated with "utter disdain"

Campaigners representing bereaved families said they felt they had been treated with "utter disdain" by NHS leaders.

The group said they no longer wished to work with Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) on an improvement plan, after it lost track of figures on patient deaths.

They told a council meeting they "were still not being listened to".

NHS officials said they were still "keen" to work with the campaigners.

At a previous meeting of Norfolk's health overview and scrutiny committee, NSFT and the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (NWICB) had pledged to work with bereaved families on updating an improvement action plan.

It followed a review last year, which found that NSFT did not know how many deaths of former patients could be deemed avoidable.

Caroline Aldridge's son died while waiting for mental health care

The group, including Caroline Aldridge, whose son died while waiting for mental health care, had written their own review - Forever Gone - on the recording of deaths at NSFT.

But in a statement read at the latest committee meeting, the campaigners said they no longer wished to work with NSFT or NWICB on the action plan.

They complained about the "utter disdain shown by senior officers across the system", adding there was "clearly no intention from the system to address our findings".

In response, Tricia D'Orsi from NWICB said the NHS organisations would need time to reflect on the statement, but they were still "very keen" to work with the campaigners.

NSFT also admitted at the meeting that it had yet to finalise plans on how it could improve.

Last September it told councillors it would provide an action plan within a month.

West Norfolk councillor Pallavi Devulapalli, a Green Party health spokesperson, said she felt "contempt" was being shown to the committee, as no plan had been presented.

Gary O'Hare, from NSFT, said he hoped the plan would be ready "in the next few months"

Gary O'Hare, representing NSFT, admitted there was "no timeline" for the plan, but it "would not be way down the line".

"I would hope that we'll be here in the next few months to update on where we are, not just on that action plan, but also on the improvements that we've made," he added.

Ms D'Orsi said there was "no contempt" for the committee, but "an absolute desire to get this correct".

The committee also said it was sending a letter to the secretary of state calling for a statutory inquiry into mental health deaths in Norfolk within the next week.

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