NSFT: Discharge of 300 youngsters decision 'not mistake'

The Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust is based at Hellesdon Hospital on the outskirts of Norwich

A mental health trust has admitted a letter discharging 300 young people from its waiting list at the start of the pandemic was not a mistake.

Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) sent the letter to patients waiting for access to children and young people's services.

The trust apologised at the time, saying the letters "should not have been sent" and blaming "human error".

But NSFT has now admitted it was a decision it had taken.

The letter from the trust, dubbed the worst-performing mental health trust in the country, informed patients they would no longer be getting appointments and their referrals had been closed.

Dr Sarah Maxwell, clinical director of children and young people's services, said the letter was a "decision" taken by the trust

Speaking at a meeting of Norfolk County Council's health overview and scrutiny committee - a group of elected councillors tasked with holding health services to account - Dr Sarah Maxwell, clinical director of children and young people's services at NSFT, said the letter was a "decision" taken by the trust, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

It came during a discussion of progress since its 2019 inspection - which rated children and young people's services as "inadequate'"

Councillor Brenda Jones asked: "On the accidental discharge of young people - surely the mistake wasn't just a clerical error but came from senior leadership?"

Dr Maxwell said: "It wasn't a straightforward clerical error. It was in part a decision based on what we were having to plan for in terms of the pandemic.

"At the outset of the pandemic, we knew we had a lot of young people on our services. We were expecting to lose 50% of our staff, due to being unwell or being redeployed.

"We were acutely aware we were going to have a lot of young people with nothing offered to them."

Dr Dan Dalton, chief medical officer, added: "This clearly was something where we got it wrong. I'm absolutely confident it was done for the right reasons."