Norfolk and Suffolk NHS trust counted adults in child waiting list data

More than 3,000 other cases were wrongly included in waiting list data for children

A mental health trust that lost track of the number of its patient deaths also provided inaccurate waiting list data about children, the BBC has found.

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) presented inaccurate statistics to a local oversight panel.

The figures about children wrongly included more than 3,000 other cases, mostly adults with ADHD.

NSFT blamed "human error" for the way it had reported the data.

The trust presented the figures to Norfolk County Council's Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) last November.

They showed that more than 4,000 children were on waiting lists for mental health assessments, with more than 1,000 apparently waiting longer than a year.

The BBC reported on this at the time and asked the trust for clarification on the figures, but none was provided.

However, a source, who has worked extensively with data at NSFT, has now told the BBC that a major error was made when the numbers were collated - with the 3,000 other cases wrongly being included in the figure.

Incorrect figures presented to councillors showed more than 4,000 children were waiting for mental health assessments

NSFT also did not tell councillors there had been a mistake.

A subsequent investigation by the BBC found the review was edited to remove criticism of NSFT's leadership.

The source who spoke to the BBC said: "Accurate data gathering and reporting within any trust is essential for patient safety. At NSFT it has been a mess for a very long time.

"The system and processes are so confused that it is very difficult to know if any of the numbers we see are correct."

Councillor Emma Corlett said the mistake might have put families off seeking assessments for their children

'Another great big mess'

Emma Corlett, a Labour councillor and former mental health nurse, described it as "another great big mess around data".

She also raised concerns that the lack of clarification on the figures might have discouraged parents from seeking mental health assessments for their children.

"People might just think it's not worth going to the GP for a referral," she said.

Conservative councillor Fran Whymark, who chairs HOSC, said NSFT should have provided a correction to the committee.

"If you're counting [an adult] with ADHD as a child, what else are you counting incorrectly?" he said.

"If your investigation has found the figures are incorrect, I would expect NSFT to explain why. Is this endemic?

"They should be looking at this with some urgency."

Stuart Richardson, chief executive of NSFT, admitted there had been "a human error in the way we reported some data", but said the mistake "had no impact on clinical decisions or those waiting for care".

"We continue to address the root causes of our data issues to achieve lasting improvements," he said.

"To support this important piece of work, we have recruited a dedicated performance team and are putting systems in place to ensure all our data is accurate and meaningful."