'Ongoing concerns' at Norfolk and Suffolk mental health trust

The Care Quality Commission rated the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust as inadequate

A mental health trust in special measures has made improvements but "ongoing concerns" are affecting thousands of patients, a report states.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an interim inspection at the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT).

Concerns were raised at its last inspection in July 2017, when it was rated inadequate.

The NSFT welcomed the report and said it had "started to address the issues".

Chief executive Antek Lejk said it was "heartening" the report had acknowledged the trust's improvements, but some issues "cannot be resolved overnight".

CQC inspectors found:

• Patients did not always benefit from safe services and previous breaches of regulation had not been resolved

• Performance information and data had not facilitated effective learning or brought about improvements

• Not all risk assessments and care plans were in place or updated in line with patients' needs and views

• There were "significant concerns" about staffing in community mental health teams, with many patients still waiting to be allocated a care co-ordinator

• Patients were not always secluded safely or in appropriate environments

• Not all potential high-level ligature risks had been removed

The report, based on unannounced inspections in May, rated the trust "good" for caring, but found it to be inadequate for safety and leadership.

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is based at Hellesdon Hospital in Norwich

Mr Lejk said the trust had "already identified and started to address the issues that the CQC raises".

"Our priority remains addressing any urgent safety and quality issues while other challenges, such as staffing, are being addressed over a longer period of time," he added.

"But we're not complacent and, in the meantime, we continue to put in actions and mitigations to safely manage these issues."

The NSFT is the seventh largest mental health trust in the UK and provides mental health services for adults and children at more than 50 sites across Norfolk and Suffolk.

The trust was placed in special measures in October, based on the CQC's findings at a July 2017 inspection.

A full inspection is due to be carried out next month, which will decide whether the NSFT remains in special measures or not.