Campaigners ask police to investigate deaths at Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust
They're asking officers to review cases and assess if charges can be made against senior decision-makers
Campaigners from Norfolk and Suffolk are asking the police to investigate over 8000 deaths in NHS mental health services across the two counties since 2020.
They're asking officers to review cases where prevention of future deaths notices have been issued by a coroner, and to assess if charges can be made against senior decision-makers.
The campaign has also written to NHS England, the Department for Health and Social Care and the relevant Ministers and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) demanding they act.
"We are being failed"
Mark Harrison, chair of the campaign, said:
“This is the biggest deaths crisis in the history of the NHS and it is happening in the NHS Foundation Trust charged with providing mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk.
"The police are being asked to act because all other options to save the lives of people in mental distress have failed. We are being failed by all parts of the system that are meant to be there to protect us.
"Has to be broken up"
“NSFT has been rated inadequate 4 times in the last 8 years and is still in special measures. The confirmation in the Grant Thornton report that 8,440 patients and service users have died whilst under the care of NSFT since 2020 should have confirmed that NSFT is institutionally dysfunctional and has to be broken up.
"Instead, there has been a deafening silence from the bodies who have oversight of mental health – NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care.
"That is why we are also demanding an independent statutory public inquiry so that lessons can be learnt and practices changed.”
The campaign has also written to MPs, claiming they've not been taking adequate action to tackle the issue.
What has the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust said?
A spokesperson for the NSFT said:
"As a Trust, we are working really hard to learn from the deaths of people who were receiving our services at the time of their death and will do our very best to ensure these incidences are minimised in future.
"We have responded to all Prevention of Future Death’s reports and working to make sure that recommendations and actions are being implemented.
"We would add that there have been no Prevention of Future Death notices issued during 2023."