Published:
10:20 July 29, 2022
The head of the region’s struggling mental health trust is facing criticism for refusing to disclose details of his strategy to bring his services up to standard.
Stuart Richardson, chief executive of the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT), is resisting attempts to publish the “action plan” he was forced to submit to the health watchdog, after a recent inspection rated it as “inadequate” for the fifth time in seven years.
The action plan was mandated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which ordered the Trust to improve 109 different problems across seven services just to meet legal requirements.
The CQC rejected a separate request to publish the document, saying “regulatory matters are still ongoing”.
Mr. Richardson refused a freedom of information request from this newspaper to publish the full plan, saying it would “inhibit organization staff from engaging in frank and open discussions with the Care Quality Commission.”
But Mark Harrison, of Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk, a campaign group calling for better mental health care, said: “That doesn’t make sense.
“And what does it say about the state of the place, that the staff couldn’t speak openly with the CQC if they thought their words might be reported? What else are they hiding?
“These pathetic, foul-mouthed excuses just aren’t good enough. It is a culture of secrecy and it has to change.”
The CQC’s recent unannounced inspection of NSFT found a litany of serious flaws including unsafe staffing levels, insufficiently trained staff, failure to remove tie points, outdated risk assessments, failure to report or learn from incidents, maintenance poor patient records; and ineffective medication management.
The trust was instructed to submit an action plan to describe how it was addressing the concerns. The trust has posted a summary of the plan on its website, but this newspaper has asked to see the full document. We were turned down, and now Mr. Richardson is resisting our application under the 2000 Act.
You have previously spoken of the need for the trust to be more transparent.
Speaking after the recent CQC report, he said: “I am fully aware of the problems the trust has had in the past, so I want to create an environment that is open and honest and where staff feel like they are heard and listened to. your concerns. . A new beginning.”
We will appeal to the Information Commissioner to overturn the refusal of the trust and the CQC. Richardson has declined to comment.
Cath Byford, deputy chief executive of the trust, said: “We are currently working with our service users, staff and partners to develop a plan for longer-term sustainable improvement. We are inviting the public to a series of engagement events taking place in the coming weeks. Their feedback will help shape this action plan.
“We will keep our website updated and informed to the public as this plan is developed and we hope to begin delivering it during September.”
A CULTURE OF SECRET
Activist Mark Harrison said he “would have been surprised” if the trust had agreed to our freedom of information request. “If you look at the Tracy Wood case, you can see what the culture of secrecy is like,” he said.
Ms Wood, aged 40, died on June 3 last year while hospitalized under NSFT care and undergoing treatment for borderline personality disorder at Hellesdon Hospital.
In her Preventing Future Deaths report, Norfolk Coroner Jacqueline Wood said that NSFT staff concerns about understaffing the room, included in the first draft, had been removed from the final report, which was also omitted testimony from “staff members who were involved with Tracy in the hours and days leading up to her death.”
