Latest news with #RecoverySupportProgramme
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mental health trust exits special measures status
A mental health trust that was once the worst performing in the country has been removed from its "special measures" status after more than seven years, following improvements. The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) said it had exited the Recovery Support Programme that helps failing providers. The decision followed a period of sustained improvement, said NHS England, and the trust's chair Zoe Billingham said it had "achieved stability". However, campaigners for better mental health care have questioned the decision. The trust, which is headquartered in Hellesdon, Norwich, was the first of its type to receive extra support back in 2015 when it was placed in "special measures" - the precursor to the Recovery Support Programme. This grade was removed the following year, but the trust returned to special measures in 2017 because of its poor performance. NSFT had been rated "inadequate" on four occasions in eight years by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors, with its most recent rating in February 2023 stating it "requires improvement". Ms Billingham said: "We have now achieved stability; we have a clear plan; the means for delivery; and the belief that we can change NSFT once and for all, for the better." Caroline Donovan, chief executive at the trust, added: "There truly is so much that has been achieved by everyone last year and so much to feel optimistic about in 2025. "We can see the impact on service users already, with more positive comments about our services; our friends and family test results have improved; waiting times have significantly reduced in some areas; and our performance is improving." NSFT will move from mandated national intensive support to mandated regional support and oversight. Clare Panniker, regional director for NHS England, said it was "positive news" for patients, but there was still much work to do. "NHS England will ensure that these improvements are built upon at pace to further improve the service NSFT provide," she said. Chair of the NSFT Crisis Campaign, Mark Harrison, said: "The campaign has no confidence in NHS England as they have presided over 12 years of failing mental health services. "We don't understand how NSFT can be released from the Recovery Support Programme ahead of an independent inspection from the CQC." The CQC said NHS England could include its previous reports when removing trusts from the programme. NSFT said it had completed 100% of the CQCs "must do" actions. The trust said it reviewed 12,503 deaths that had occurred between April 2019 to April 2023, and found just over 420 people died from unexplained unnatural deaths during this period. There are no national mortality figures for England to compare the figure to. It also "believes that NSFT are not an outlier across mental health trusts throughout the country". Of the unexplained unnatural deaths, the predominate demographic is males between the ages of 40 to 50. In a joint statement, the Labour MPs for Norwich North and Ipswich, Alice Macdonald and Jack Abbott, said: "For the best part of a decade, the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has failed thousands of people, with terrible consequences. "This news that NSFT has left special measures marks some welcome progress, but the challenge for NSFT is now to ensure this is a first step towards sustained, long-term improvement." The statement continued: "It remains the case that many people in our region are yet to feel this progress in their lived experience of mental health care, with many still recounting tragic personal stories of institutional failure." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Mental health campaigners to meet MPs Trust failed to heed safety warnings, campaigners say NHS trust lost track of patient deaths, review finds Care Quality Commission Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust Norfolk and Suffolk Mental Health Crisis Campaign
BBC News
10-02-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Norfolk and Suffolk mental health trust exits special measures
A mental health trust that was once the worst performing in the country has been removed from its "special measures" status after more than seven years, following Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) said it had exited the Recovery Support Programme that helps failing providers. The decision followed a period of sustained improvement, said NHS England, and the trust's chair Zoe Billingham said it had "achieved stability".However, campaigners for better mental health care have questioned the decision. The trust, which is headquartered in Hellesdon, Norwich, was the first of its type to receive extra support back in 2015 when it was placed in "special measures" - the precursor to the Recovery Support grade was removed the following year, but the trust returned to special measures in 2017 because of its poor had been rated "inadequate" on four occasions in eight years by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors, with its most recent rating in February 2023 stating it "requires improvement". Ms Billingham said: "We have now achieved stability; we have a clear plan; the means for delivery; and the belief that we can change NSFT once and for all, for the better."Caroline Donovan, chief executive at the trust, added: "There truly is so much that has been achieved by everyone last year and so much to feel optimistic about in 2025."We can see the impact on service users already, with more positive comments about our services; our friends and family test results have improved; waiting times have significantly reduced in some areas; and our performance is improving."NSFT will move from mandated national intensive support to mandated regional support and Panniker, regional director for NHS England, said it was "positive news" for patients, but there was still much work to do. "NHS England will ensure that these improvements are built upon at pace to further improve the service NSFT provide," she said. Chair of the NSFT Crisis Campaign, Mark Harrison, said: "The campaign has no confidence in NHS England as they have presided over 12 years of failing mental health services."We don't understand how NSFT can be released from the Recovery Support Programme ahead of an independent inspection from the CQC."The CQC said NHS England could include its previous reports when removing trusts from the programme. NSFT said it had completed 100% of the CQCs "must do" actions. The trust said it reviewed 12,503 deaths that had occurred between April 2019 to April 2023, and found just over 420 people died from unexplained unnatural deaths during this are no national mortality figures for England to compare the figure also "believes that NSFT are not an outlier across mental health trusts throughout the country".Of the unexplained unnatural deaths, the predominate demographic is males between the ages of 40 to 50. In a joint statement, the Labour MPs for Norwich North and Ipswich, Alice Macdonald and Jack Abbott, said: "For the best part of a decade, the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has failed thousands of people, with terrible consequences."This news that NSFT has left special measures marks some welcome progress, but the challenge for NSFT is now to ensure this is a first step towards sustained, long-term improvement."The statement continued: "It remains the case that many people in our region are yet to feel this progress in their lived experience of mental health care, with many still recounting tragic personal stories of institutional failure." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hospital trusts in 'financial special measures'
Three out of Lancashire's four acute hospital trusts have been put in the equivalent of financial special measures by NHS England, the BBC can exclusively reveal. The trusts which run the Royal Preston, Chorley, Royal Blackburn, Burnley and Blackpool Victoria hospitals have been told they are going to have to save tens of millions of pounds. The Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), which funds them, has to make more than £530m in efficiency savings this financial year, potentially cutting some services. An ICB spokesman told BBC North West Tonight they welcomed the additional support from NHS England as they recognised the "severity of the situation". He added that "dedicated" NHS staff were "working hard under difficult circumstances to continue delivering the best care". The affected trusts, East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust, have already slashed millions of pounds from their budgets and for months there has been a virtual recruitment freeze for non-clinical staff. Last month, East Lancashire Hospitals Trust announced it would be cutting the free bus service between Blackburn, Burnley and Pendle hospitals at the end of March – saving £780,000 a year. A local bus company has since announced a paid-for service running the same route. Meanwhile, at Chorley hospital, a surgical ward which was built less than three years ago is to shut at the end of the financial year. The announcement prompted a strike by the staff involved, who have been told they will be redeployed. Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust said there were plans to repurpose the ward but confirmed that the move would save money. All of the trusts in Lancashire and South Cumbria are funded by the Integrated Care Board, which is in serious financial difficulty. This year it received a total budget of just over £4.5bn, which is used to run the entire health economy in the region, from hospitals to GPs, and it falls short of what the ICB needs to do that. The organisation would need to shave about £700m in costs from the services it currently provides in order to hit that target. NHS England has already agreed that they can overspend by £175m this year, leaving £530m to find. Some of those savings have already been made but NHS England is concerned about progress and has placed the ICB and the three hospital trusts in a form of special measures known as the Recovery Support Programme. NHS England said it provided focused assistance to organisations and systems facing the most profound challenges. In practice, this involves national teams going in to identify how things can be run more efficiently and cheaply. But with cuts of about 12% to find this year alone, some services look set to be affected. The Royal Preston Hospital is also in need of ongoing maintenance work. The hospital has previously had to close clinical areas because of flooding and has described parts of the building as "dilapidated". Work was supposed to start on a new building in the early 2030s but last month the government announced that a new hospital might now be 18 years away. The trust has previously announced that it faced a backlog of maintenance work totalling £157m and has since said that this new announcement would mean a "significant" amount of extra cash needed to keep the building useable. The chief executive of Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB told the BBC that they welcomed the support from NHS England "as we recognise the severity of the situation that we are in". Kevin Lavery said they took responsibility for the challenges they faced and recognised that there was more to be done about their financial position. "Despite the hard work of colleagues across our system, we have unfortunately not made the improvements that we had hoped to by this point," he said. "I can confidently say that our NHS workforce is dedicated to providing the highest standard of care for our communities and is working hard under difficult circumstances to continue delivering the best care day in, day out." Mr Lavery said the ICB had "an opportunity here to ensure that the support and expertise from this programme helps us to make improvements which will ultimately support our system to deliver high quality, sustainable health services for the people of Lancashire and South Cumbria". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. Hospital bosses left facing £157m maintenance bill New Lancashire hospital delays 'disappointing' Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board
BBC News
06-02-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Three Lancashire hospital trusts in 'financial special measures'
Three out of Lancashire's four acute hospital trusts have been put in the equivalent of financial special measures by NHS England, the BBC can exclusively reveal. The trusts which run the Royal Preston, Chorley, Royal Blackburn, Burnley and Blackpool Victoria hospitals have been told they are going to have to save tens of millions of Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), which funds them, has to make more than £530m in efficiency savings this financial year, potentially cutting some ICB spokesman told BBC North West Tonight they welcomed the additional support from NHS England as they recognised the "severity of the situation". He added that "dedicated" NHS staff were "working hard under difficult circumstances to continue delivering the best care". The affected trusts, East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust, have already slashed millions of pounds from their budgets and for months there has been a virtual recruitment freeze for non-clinical staff. Last month, East Lancashire Hospitals Trust announced it would be cutting the free bus service between Blackburn, Burnley and Pendle hospitals at the end of March – saving £780,000 a year. A local bus company has since announced a paid-for service running the same at Chorley hospital, a surgical ward which was built less than three years ago is to shut at the end of the financial year. The announcement prompted a strike by the staff involved, who have been told they will be redeployed. Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust said there were plans to repurpose the ward but confirmed that the move would save of the trusts in Lancashire and South Cumbria are funded by the Integrated Care Board, which is in serious financial difficulty. This year it received a total budget of just over £4.5bn, which is used to run the entire health economy in the region, from hospitals to GPs, and it falls short of what the ICB needs to do organisation would need to shave about £700m in costs from the services it currently provides in order to hit that target. NHS England has already agreed that they can overspend by £175m this year, leaving £530m to of those savings have already been made but NHS England is concerned about progress and has placed the ICB and the three hospital trusts in a form of special measures known as the Recovery Support Programme. 'Dilapidated building' NHS England said it provided focused assistance to organisations and systems facing the most profound challenges. In practice, this involves national teams going in to identify how things can be run more efficiently and with cuts of about 12% to find this year alone, some services look set to be Royal Preston Hospital is also in need of ongoing maintenance work. The hospital has previously had to close clinical areas because of flooding and has described parts of the building as "dilapidated".Work was supposed to start on a new building in the early 2030s but last month the government announced that a new hospital might now be 18 years away. The trust has previously announced that it faced a backlog of maintenance work totalling £157m and has since said that this new announcement would mean a "significant" amount of extra cash needed to keep the building useable. The chief executive of Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB told the BBC that they welcomed the support from NHS England "as we recognise the severity of the situation that we are in".Kevin Lavery said they took responsibility for the challenges they faced and recognised that there was more to be done about their financial position."Despite the hard work of colleagues across our system, we have unfortunately not made the improvements that we had hoped to by this point," he said."I can confidently say that our NHS workforce is dedicated to providing the highest standard of care for our communities and is working hard under difficult circumstances to continue delivering the best care day in, day out."Mr Lavery said the ICB had "an opportunity here to ensure that the support and expertise from this programme helps us to make improvements which will ultimately support our system to deliver high quality, sustainable health services for the people of Lancashire and South Cumbria". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
