Mental health trust makes good progress on improvement journey | News and events

Praise for NSFT staff as improvements recognised

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has recognised the significant improvements which Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has made to ensure its community and crisis services are delivering safer, kinder, better care for local people.

The Trust's community mental health services for adults of a working age have been given an overall rating of 'good', with 'good' ratings in four of the five domains for 'effective', 'caring', 'responsive' and 'well-led'. Crisis services and health-based places of safety have received an overall rating of 'requires improvement', with 'good' ratings in three of the five domains for 'effective', 'caring' and 'well-led'.

Caroline Donovan, NSFT Chief Executive, said: These are the most positive CQC reports NSFT has received in a decade and are a testament to the dedication of our staff, who work incredibly hard every day to deliver high quality services to our local communities and have focused relentlessly on making improvements. But the CQC has also identified areas for improvement, and we know we have more to do to make sure we are consistently providing better services to everyone who needs our support.

To have a look at the full reports, go to  Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust - Overview - Care Quality Commission . The Trust expects the results of a well-led inspection, which took place in May 2025, to also be published in the near future.

Safer Staffing programme moves forward

A safer staffing programme of work to make sure that staff at NSFT have the right professional qualifications and training to provide safe and effective care across inpatient and 24/7 community services is making significant progress.   

The Mental Health Act requires a registered nurse mental health (RNMH) or a registered nurse learning disability (RNLD) to be on duty on an inpatient ward at all times. In addition, in our community services and crisis teams, we expect patients to be first assessed by a clinical practitioner with core mental health training.  

NSFT has completed several actions in the last few months to make sure inpatient services have the appropriate staffing level and skill mix so that patients and service users receive consistently safe, good and quality care.  

These actions include a review of staff skills and the shifts they work, making sure that inpatient wards across Norfolk and Suffolk are staffed with a registered nurse in mental health or learning disability 24/7.  

This programme of work has resulted in clear processes to make sure the correctly qualified staff are booked onto every shift, and that our staff have the right training and support to do their job.  

Working with service users and carers

Putting service users and carers at the heart of everything the Trust does is a vital part of NSFT's improvement journey. The Trust has created a Service User and Carer Council and is progressing well with plans to develop one council in each of its five new locality areas. 

The Service User and Carer Council is benefiting from the support of Rethink Mental Illness (Rethink), a UK charity supporting people affected by mental illness. Rethink is partnering with NSFT to help facilitate lived experience leadership development for council members. If you would like to get in touch with the Service User and Carer Council, or are interested in finding out more about this work or how to get involved, please email: councils@nsft.nhs.uk .

NSFT is also making strong progress on the development of its first Health Equity Strategy.  This is a vital document which will ensure focus on the health inequality challenges that are faced by many communities the Trust serves.  The aim of the strategy is to work in partnership on tackling inequalities and delivering services at neighbourhood level in a way that meets the needs of local people.

During recent weeks the Trust has been seeking wider views on the draft strategy and looks forward to developing the underpinning plan to support and ensure the delivery of the strategy. The final version of the Health Equity Strategy will be presented to the Trust's Board in October.  

Everyone welcome at NSFT's Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Annual Members Meeting (AMM)

Service users, families, carers, members of the public and organisations are invited to attend NSFT's Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Annual Members' Meeting (AMM) at The Forum, Millennium Plain, Norwich, on Thursday, 9 October.  

A marketplace event will take place in the Atrium from 10.30am and there will be an opportunity to meet members of our teams, and those who use our services to find out more about the improvements the Trust is delivering, along with interactive and engaging activities.

The AGM/ AMM will be held in the Gallery at 2pm with presentations from NSFT Chair, Zoë Billingham, Chief Executive, Caroline Donovan, Chief Nurse, Anthony Deery, Chief Finance Officer, Jason Hollidge and Lead Governor, Melinda Bird.

A highlight of the day will be the official launch of NSFT's new Carers Charter which explains how the organisation will better support and work with carers of people using our services.

The event will include the opportunity to ask questions.  

To register for the AGM, please click here .Please email any questions in advance to AskTheBoard@nsft.nhs.uk .