The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the leadership at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) as ‘requiring improvement’.
But bosses at the trust, which employs 5,000 people and provides mental health services across the two counties, said they were encouraged inspectors recognised progress had been made.
The Rivers Centre headquarters of the NSFT (Image: Premiere Pro)
The inspectors, who scrutinised two of the trust’s frontline service groups, said there had been an improvement in culture overall, but the remained concerned community teams did not always ensure medicines and treatments were safe.
They also said there were “significant delays” in completing patient safety investigations.
Many staff reported that senior leaders were not visible, while employees continued to raise concerns about racial and disability discrimination at work.
But inspectors were impressed by “passionate, hardworking staff” and said recent board appointments had brought much-needed stability.
Stuart Dunn, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said:Â “We found leaders had started to make significant progress in areas such as board stability, management and engagement with people who use services.
“However, more is needed to ensure improvements are embedded and delivered consistently. Â
“Staff told us they felt services were starting to improve. However, many also said senior leaders weren’t always visible or approachable, and they didn’t always feel confident concerns would be listened to or acted upon.
“We continued to hear about some poor experiences of workplace culture, including issues around discrimination and feeling unable to speak up. Trust leaders were aware and were taking action in response.”
Caroline Donovan, chief executive of NSFT (Image: NSFT)
Caroline Donovan, chief executive officer at NSFT, said: “We know we still have much more to do to deliver consistent good quality mental health services and were already taking action to address many of the areas highlighted.
“We are particularly pleased the inspectors have once again recognised the hard work and dedication of our staff and their commitment to the individuals and communities we serve.
“Improving our culture is one of our strategic priorities, while we have renewed our commitment to enhancing the experiences which staff from an ethnic minority background have when they come to work.”
NSFT chairman Zoe Billingham (Image: NSFT)
Zoë Billingham, NSFT chairman, said the trust had scored 59pc overall, which put it “on the cusp” of a ‘good’ rating.
The next inspection will come at random, but Ms Billingham said she was confident the serve will get a ‘good’ rating when it is carried out.
Since its inception in January 2012, the organisation has seen longstanding struggles in raising and maintaining standards and has been rated inadequate four times.
But in February it was lifted out of special measures for the first time in seven years and, in August, the CQC rated community services as good and highlighted some improvement in crisis care.
The latest inspection was carried out in May.