Norfolk social care shake-up after serious concerns raised

Serious concerns that social care for adults with mental health issues in Norfolk is not good enough has led to the county council taking responsibility for the service away from the mental health trust.

Norfolk County Council’s cabinet agreed to the move at a meeting today, which will see just over a hundred staff who had been transferred to the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust five years ago go back to being managed from County Hall.

Issues around the service were aired at a meeting of the council’s community services overview and scrutiny panel in November.

Now the council’s cabinet has agreed to take over the direct management of the service.

The £4.3m contract has been extended until September to allow time for the transition.

Sue Whitaker, the council’s cabinet member for adult social services, said: “We need to revise and strengthen the way we provide social care for people with mental health needs and we feel the best way to achieve this is to manage the service directly.”

Andrew Hopkins, the trust’s acting chief executive, said: “Our review has shown we have made improvements but, as the statutory requirements have increased considerably since we started delivering social care for the county council four years ago, we accept that changes need to be made.”

A spokesman for the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk said: “It is very disappointing but sadly unsurprising that Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust appears to have lost the confidence of Norfolk County Council to deliver the council’s statutory social care obligations.

“The campaign seeks to ensure the delivery of high-quality, integrated mental healthcare and if this decisive action taken by Norfolk County Council helps improve quality, we welcome it.”

Jeff Keighley, regional organiser for the union Unison, said: “It’s a concern that such a big care contract has suddenly been taken back in-house.

“The trust has lost a lot of staff recently and is continuing with its radical restructuring plan that is obviously affecting care.”