A quarter of Norfolk and Suffolk Mental Health Trust beds closed

The Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust have today announced that across the two counties, 35 out of 144 beds have been closed.

These bed closures have been put in place as a temporary measure due to ‘unsafe staffing levels’ at some of the establishments. The temporary closures are due to reopen in autumn despite Suffolk carrying out an ongoing recruitment programme.

Peter Devlin is the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust’s Operations Director. He has said the following on the matter:

“The safety of our service users is always our principal consideration and we will not allow anything to compromise this. The main reasons for the bed closures have been a shortage of staff, which is a national issue, and the need to invest significant amounts of money on improving the environment and safety for patients, such as by providing single sex accommodation and removing ligature risks.”

Kate Smith, Solicitor in the Medical Negligence team at Ashtons Legal, comments: “Although it is clear that there have been measures put in place to protect patients from unsafe staffing levels in wards, it does appear that this potentially could put those at risk in the community. It is clear that mental health continues to suffer from a lack of funding and a lack of qualified staffing. Serious steps need to be made to assist our mental health services in the UK to prevent putting patients at risk whether they are in the ward or in the community.”