Proper provision of Mental Health services should be a central part of a modern health service. For too long mental health has been the poor relation of NHS healthcare, with fragmented & inadequate services causing untold distress to patients across Norfolk.  Having seen at first hand in my own family & with friends the devastating effects of inadequate mental health services on both patients & their friends & families this has been and remains an issue very close to my heart since I was elected.  Proper diagnosis, treatment & community support services will not save patients the agony of untreated illness but save our wider society the huge downstream costs of untreated mental illness. 

This isn’t an optional extra to our NHS.  It is an essential and basic part of Norfolk Health and Care service which all local NHSC leads and agencies need to deliver.  The whole point of the ICS reform was to create a single streamlined service that puts patients’ needs first. 

The NSFT had had long term problems with its level of service, performance, management & staff morale which all of us involved in healthcare in Norfolk have seen & tried to tackle over the last decade. That’s why I am  continuing to work closely with ministers, officials, the CQC and NHS England to ensure we continue to highlight this issue and the need for reform.

Although I am currently away on a family holiday this week, I am staying closely connected through my office to the latest developments,  including yesterday’s meeting with Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust interim meeting. 

Reform is never easy. But I am very concerned that after years of problems at new NSFT and a new management team the organisation is still struggling to improve sufficiently. I am raising this with the new Team & Board at NSFT. 

Rest assured I will remain closely involved and speak up for patients and service users here in Mid Norfolk.