Published4 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingBy Sophie HutchinsonBBC NewsA mental health trust linked to thousands of unexpected patient deaths repeatedly failed to act on coroners’ safety warnings, campaigners say.BBC News has been given exclusive access to new evidence from coroners’ reports gathered by a campaign group.It wants a criminal investigation into why so many patients died at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust – and has sent police the evidence.The trust said it was “working really hard” to learn from past deaths.Bereaved families told the health minister the trust should be shut down.Campaigners, including patients and bereaved families, claim it is failing to make vital safety improvements despite promising to do so. Last summer, a report found more than 8,000 mental-health patients had died unexpectedly in Norfolk and Suffolk between 2019 and 2022. This is defined as the death of a patient who has not been identified as critically ill or whose death is not expected by the clinical team.The new evidence, based on 38 coroners’ prevention of future death (PFD) reports since 2013, suggests there were repeated warnings more patients could die unless safety issues were addressed, including:dangerously poor record-keeping and communicationfamily concerns being ignored unsafe levels of staffing at the trustAnd campaigners say the trust’s failure to improve safety has led to more deaths.’Real change’They met Minister for Mental Health Maria Caulfield and MPs, at Westminster, on Tuesday, and demanded an independent public inquiry over “the ongoing deaths crisis” at the trust.Natalie McLellan, whose daughter Rebecca died in November, says the 24-year-old was abandoned by her mental health team after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She wants “real change”.”You can’t keep ignoring mental health in this country – there is a death crisis and these beautiful young people, and old, are losing their lives because of inadequacies,” Natalie said. “We need to address it now.”Seven years ago, following the death of Henry Curtis-Williams, 21, a coroner warned about poor record-keeping.Image source, Curtis familyHenry was sectioned and taken to hospital in 2016, after being found by police on a bridge, but was discharged the next day by a junior member of staff and a few days later killed himself.In the PFD report about Henry’s death, assistant coroner Dr Séan Cummings said there was a “culture of not recording contemporaneous notes” and communication between staff was “very informal” with “no record kept of important messages relayed”.Henry’s mother, Pippa, says her only child’s death has had a catastrophic impact on her and she remains devastated by his treatment.”I replay it in my mind often,” she said. “It really was a catalogue of one failure after another, particularly in the clinical note keeping and the premature discharge. “I feel on a daily basis nothing other than anger and bitter resentment towards the trust.”If you don’t keep accurate clinical notes in chronological order, then how can a new nurse that comes on shift have any idea what’s happened previously to the patient?”Since Henry’s death, the evidence from campaigners suggests nine other other mental health patients have died with some of the same safety issues raised in the PFD reports. Five of those deaths were linked to unsafe record-keeping, campaigners say.One of the reports also refers to the falsifying of records.The trust said its quality of care rating had, earlier this year, been upgraded from “inadequate” to “requires improvement”.And over the past six months, it had improved its collection, processing and use of mortality data.’Recovery-support programme’An official said: “We offer our sincere condolences to all families and carers of people who have lost loved ones. “We can assure all families and carers that we are working really hard to learn from these incidents and do our very best to ensure they are minimised in future. “A review of prevention of future deaths is already under way to ensure improvements in practice have been made and learning is embedded across our clinical services.” NHS England said it would ensure the improvements needed to deliver safe and high quality care to patients were achieved and targets in the wider improvement plan reached.”We are working with Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust and have already helped them to achieve an improved CQC [Care Quality Commission] rating,” an official said.”The trust will remain in NHS England’s national recovery support programme to receive the highest level of scrutiny and support.”More on this story’Spin doctors’ paid £800k by struggling NHS trustPublished7 November 2023Bereaved mum wants unsafe mental health care endedPublished12 December 2023Public inquiry call over mental health death dataPublished10 July 2023NHS trust lost track of patient deaths, review findsPublished28 June 2023

Published19 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingBy Sophie HutchinsonBBC NewsLandais Alzheimer, in south-west France, is a village with a difference – all the villagers have dementia.The shop in the main square supplies simple groceries such as the all-important baguette but does not take money, so no-one has to remember their wallet.Ex-farmer Francis is collecting his daily newspaper there – and I suggest we go for a coffee next door, in the restaurant that serves as the social heart of the village.I ask Francis what it was like when the doctor told him he had Alzheimer’s. He nods, taking himself back to that time, and, after a pause, says: “Very hard.” ‘Keep going’His father also had Alzheimer’s – but Francis remains unafraid.”I’m not afraid of dying, because that will happen one day,” he says. “Meanwhile, I will live my life despite the disease.”I am here to live, even though it’s not the same. “If you surrender, you’ve had it. So you keep going, to the best of your ability.” As well as the shop and restaurant, villagers are encouraged to attend the theatre – and join in activities.Philippe and Viviane tell me they continue to live as normal a life as they can following their double dementia diagnosis. “We go on walks. We walk,” Philippe says, looking into the distance. And when I ask if they are happy, he instantly turns his head and, with a glowing smile, says: “Yes we are – truly.” Then, having finished their coffee and bundled up in warm clothes, the couple head back out into the park.Time passes differently here, my guide at the village says. There are no set hours for appointments, shopping and cleaning – just a gentle rhythm coaxing and cajoling villagers, to give them as much freedom as possible.The village is being closely monitored – and Prof Hélène Amieva says early results suggest it is actually influencing the course of the disease. “What we used to see when people enter an institution is an accelerated cognitive decline – that is not observed in this institution,” she says. “We see a kind of very smooth evolution. “We have some reasons to believe these kinds of institutions can influence the trajectory of clinical outcomes.”They have also seen a “drastic reduction” in families’ feelings of guilt and anxiety.Motioning to her mother, Mauricette, 89, sitting in her bedroom, Dominique says: “I have peace of mind, because I know she has peace of mind and is safe.” Filled with family photos, paintings and the family’s furniture, the room has a large window on to the garden. With no visiting hours, people come and go as they please. And Dominique says she and her sisters never expected the care to be so good.”When I leave her, I am relieved. When I arrive, it’s like I am just at her house – I am at home with my mum,” she says.Each of the single-storey chalets houses about eight residents, with a communal kitchen, sitting and dining rooms.While villagers pay a contribution, the running costs – similar to an average care home – are mainly covered by the regional French government which paid £17m ($22m) to set up the village. When it opened, in 2020, it was the second village of its kind – and the only one to be part of a research project. And there still are thought to be fewer than a dozen like it in the world. But it has attracted worldwide interest, from those looking for a solution to the predicted exponential growth in dementia.In the village hairdressers, Patricia, 65, who has just finished having her hair blow-dried, says Landais Alzheimer has given her her life back.”I was at home – but I was getting bored,” she says. “I had a lady to cook for me. I was tired. I was not feeling well. I knew that Alzheimer’s wasn’t easy and I was scared. “I wanted to be somewhere where I could help too. “Because in other care homes, it’s like this, like that – but they don’t do anything. “Whereas here, it’s real life. When I say real, I mean real.”So often, dementia can isolate people. But here, there seems to be a strong sense of community, with people genuinely interested in seeing each other and joining in activities. And researchers say this social element may be part of the key to living a happier, and potentially healthier, life with dementia.There are about 120 villagers and the same number of healthcare professionals, with volunteers on top. There is, of course, a cruel inevitability because there is no cure. But as each villager’s disease progresses, they are given support they need. And while this may be the winter of these villagers’ lives, staff here believe it comes more slowly with more joy along the way.Some contributors asked that their surnames be withheldMore on this storyBrain power of over-50s dropped during Covid – studyPublished2 NovemberNew drugs for Alzheimer’s hailed as turning pointPublished17 JulyFiona Phillips: How common is early Alzheimer’s?Published5 JulyNew Alzheimer’s drug slows disease by a thirdPublished3 MayAlzheimer’s drug hailed as momentous breakthroughPublished30 November 2022Related Internet Linksvillagealzheimer.landes.fr-en-the-establishmentThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Published33 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Esther BrennanBy Sophie HutchinsonBBC NewsCampaigners have written to the chief constables of Norfolk and Suffolk to request an investigation into thousands of mental health deaths in those areas.They say coroners are raising safety issues but no improvements are being made.A report by independent auditors found as many as 8,440 patients had died unexpectedly over three years.Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust said it had started a review of patient deaths.Coroners worried about the risk of future deaths highlight unsafe practices in what are known as prevention-of-future-deaths reports (PFDs). And authorities are required by law to respond with an action plan within 56 days.The Norfolk and Suffolk trust said it had responded to all PFDs and was working to ensure recommendations and actions were implemented.But Mark Harrison, from the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk, said: “There’s a criminal case to answer. And we want the police to investigate, where the same mistakes have been repeated time and time again.”He said coroners were repeatedly warning of risks such as:delays to treatmentlack of patient follow-upschaotic record keepingdisorganised communication between teamsMr Harrison said: “The mental health trust always responds saying they’ve learned lessons, they are changing policy and practices. “But then what we’re seeing in analysing the orders from the coroner are repeat circumstances where other people have died in similar circumstances to a previous prevention-of-future-deaths notice.”Image source, Esther BrennanStudent Theo Brennan-Hulme, 21, suffered from bouts of severe anxiety. And in early 2019, in the midst of a crisis, he had sought help from his GP, his mother, Esther Brennan, told BBC News. Mr Brennan-Hulme was referred to the community mental-health service in Norfolk as an emergency but waited eight hours before being assessed at Hellesdon Hospital, Norwich. His family was not contacted after the assessment, despite this being part of the treatment plan in place, or referred to the mental-health home-treatment team to enable treatment options to be explored. His absence at a previously arranged wellbeing service appointment, on 6 March 2019 was not followed up.And on 12 March, he was found in his university bedroom having killed himself.’Died horrifically’Miss Brennan said it had taken several years of pursuing the trust to discover mistakes in his care had happened before.”The lack of training, lack of staffing, the lack of following policy, the lack of care was known about,” she said. “I know there were previous PFDs, before Theo, that suggested things needed to improve urgently.”They couldn’t have got any worse for Theo and that’s abhorrent to the memory of all the people who went before him.” “He died horrifically, alone, with nobody, and everything that they didn’t do exacerbated his state.” ‘Lost track’Serious questions remain about the deaths of mental-health patients in Norfolk and Suffolk.In June this year, independent auditors Grant Thornton concluded the trust had simply lost track of who had died.Between 2019 and 2022, more than 8,000 patients had died unexpectedly and, for three-quarters, the trust still did not know how or why, their report found.The trust defines an “unexpected death” as the death of a patient “who has not been identified as critically ill or whose death is not expected by the clinical team”.It said: “We offer our sincere condolences to all families and carers of people affected.” And it added it would do its very best to ensure deaths were “minimised in future”.’Very toxic’But a nurse at the trust told BBC News senior management was still not listening. Charlie, not his real name, said: “It’s very toxic within the trust – there are undertones of bullying. And if you raise concerns about patient safety, or even staff safety, you’re not listened to.”A “significant proportion” of the deaths he was aware of had been preventable, he said. “Very simple measures could have been put into place to avoid these people dying,” Charlie said, adding staff shortages were compounding the problem.A youth team had lost eight members of staff in a month and one of the crisis teams was so short-staffed it no longer functioned at night.Two months ago, trust deputy chief executive Cath Byford told the Norfolk Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee it would take another four years “at least” for the “measurable culture” to improve. The trust told BBC News it had begun a review of PDFs, “to ensure improvements in practice have been made and learning is embedded across clinical services”.For Mr Harrison, changes cannot come quickly enough.”We’ve got lots of members of the campaign who are bereaved parents, or parents of children who can’t get services, so their biggest fear is that their children will end up in the same way as the bereaved parents,” he said. “So it’s toxic. And we’ve been doing this for 10 years.”The campaign has also written to NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Care Quality Commission and local MPs.More on this storyPublic inquiry call over mental health death dataPublished10 JulyNHS trust lost track of patient deaths, review findsPublished28 JuneWorst mental health trust ‘still has way to go’Published15 January 2020Related Internet LinksNorfolk & Suffolk Mental Health Crisis – The radical restructure is the end of hope for a better NSFTThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.