Norfolk and Suffolk Mental Health Trust.
Yes indeed, this is a two county trust - each one a huge county in its own right. Before Christmas the trust announced it intends to cut 502 of its 2,128 posts “in order to balance its books” (Eastern Daily Press 24/01/13). Of these posts, quite a few are ‘senior clinicians.’Hospital beds (psychiatric) have already been drastically cut and, for several months now the loss of beds has meant quite a few people admitted against their will under the Mental Health Act (’sectioned’) have had to have been sent to other hospitals outside the counties. This had long been criticised
as bad practice by the now defunct Mental Health Commission (MHC) but the Care Quality Commission which took over the MHC’s responsibilities seems not to have the heart to hurt the feelings of today’s mental health trusts. But who fancies being pounced on, needled in the bum and dragged into hospital - another grouch of mine is that today’s Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs - successors to Approved Social Workers) who make the assessment for compulsory admission don’t seem to do their job - then transported to some strange distant place of bondage away from familiar surroundings, familiar people, friends and family???? I don’t and I’m sure you don’t either.
By the way, I’ve been puzzled for some time because the closure of the old Ipswich psychiatric hospital, St Clements, sometime early last year, just about coinciding with the marriage of the two county trusts, meant the only useable psychiatric hospitals for rural Suffolk are either Bury St Edmunds or Carlton Colville - both about 40 miles from Ipswich! Anyway, the stated excuse for the bed closures is to reshape the mental health service to keep people in their own homes. But to do that, does one close one service while starting to build another from scratch, leaving people flailing their minds in the gap then whizzed into Limbo in another county?
Anyway, the trust is organising a conference on February 27th to Introduce a new Scheme. I’ll go to this and report back.
Yes indeed, this is a two county trust - each one a huge county in its own right. Before Christmas the trust announced it intends to cut 502 of its 2,128 posts “in order to balance its books” (Eastern Daily Press 24/01/13). Of these posts, quite a few are ‘senior clinicians.’Hospital beds (psychiatric) have already been drastically cut and, for several months now the loss of beds has meant quite a few people admitted against their will under the Mental Health Act (’sectioned’) have had to have been sent to other hospitals outside the counties. This had long been criticised
as bad practice by the now defunct Mental Health Commission (MHC) but the Care Quality Commission which took over the MHC’s responsibilities seems not to have the heart to hurt the feelings of today’s mental health trusts. But who fancies being pounced on, needled in the bum and dragged into hospital - another grouch of mine is that today’s Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs - successors to Approved Social Workers) who make the assessment for compulsory admission don’t seem to do their job - then transported to some strange distant place of bondage away from familiar surroundings, familiar people, friends and family???? I don’t and I’m sure you don’t either.
By the way, I’ve been puzzled for some time because the closure of the old Ipswich psychiatric hospital, St Clements, sometime early last year, just about coinciding with the marriage of the two county trusts, meant the only useable psychiatric hospitals for rural Suffolk are either Bury St Edmunds or Carlton Colville - both about 40 miles from Ipswich! Anyway, the stated excuse for the bed closures is to reshape the mental health service to keep people in their own homes. But to do that, does one close one service while starting to build another from scratch, leaving people flailing their minds in the gap then whizzed into Limbo in another county?
Anyway, the trust is organising a conference on February 27th to Introduce a new Scheme. I’ll go to this and report back.
Comments