Dr Dan Poulter, has today voiced his concern about potential plans to break up the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Mental Health Trust.
Speaking out just a week after a cross-party challenge to NHS Improvement, criticising a lack of action since the Trust's latest Special Measures rating, Dr Dan warned that "knee jerk reactions to what is happenin at the Trust could be very disruptive."
As someone who works part-time in mental health services in the NHS and who understands the day to day challenges faced, Dr Dan wrote to the Deputy Chief Inspector of the Care Quality Commission to express his concerns. In his letter, copied to all MPs across Norfolk and Suffolk, Dr Dan states that "It is vitally important to understand and evaluate the scale of challenges facing the trust before making longer term recommendations about the future composition of mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk."
Dr Dan also warned that prior to its merger into the NSFT, Suffolk as a standalone mental health trust experienced "significant financial and patient care challenges".
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