The Care Quality Commission this week said that the leaders at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust had taken steps in the right direction, despite identifying “pockets of poor culture”.
The trust was still told by inspectors that its leaders need to improve, but found it was four percentage points short of earning a rating of “good” for the first time in its history.
The improvements have been welcomed by the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk – a pressure group including several families bereaved by poor mental health care.
But its chairman, Mark Harrison, remained concerned around how the organisation is being led.
Mr Harrison said: “The campaign welcomes any improvements after more than a decade of dysfunction and chaos which has resulted in too many deaths and too much suffering.
“The management are now talking with the campaign, which we welcome, but many of the decisions and budgets have already been determined.
“A well-led organisation should take staff, service users and carers with them on their plan and this report shows that visibility and buy-in is still an issue.”
Mr Harrison added the that group continued to be concerned about cuts being made to the trust’s budget.
He said: “Unfortunately, the problems go beyond NSFT with ongoing austerity cuts of £35m over the last two years.
“It is extremely disappointing that the Labour government has continued to cut NSFT’s budget while the unnecessary deaths continue and frontline services remain patchy and hard to access.”
Following the inspection, which was carried out in May, the trust’s chief executive Caroline Donovan said: “We are particularly pleased the inspectors have once again recognised the hard work and dedication of our staff and their commitments to the individuals and communities we search.”