On Friday 11th April, James Wild MP visited Chatterton House in King’s Lynn to discuss mental health services delivered by the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) meeting senior staff including Director of Nursing and quality, Kate McCandlish, Medical Director, Dr Zeyn Green – Thompson, and Interim Director of Operations, Carl Finch.
The visit began with a tour of Samphire Ward, an adult acute inpatient unit offering treatment for individuals experiencing mental illnesses and conditions. Opened in 2019, the ward provides a safe and therapeutic setting for those who cannot be supported at home. James first visited in 2022 and this time met ward manager Sophie Coleman to talk about the ward’s person-centred approach and commitment of staff to delivering recovery-focused care.
He also met the Crisis Team to review how they manage cases and referrals of individuals in urgent need of mental health including responding to constituent cases James raises. The team shared insights into their caseload, the challenges they face, collaboration with other agencies, and the importance of timely access to care.
With James’ office in regular contact with the NSFT team, he then led a roundtable discussion on priorities for mental health services, including workforce sustainability, career development, and to explore how he could best support their work both locally and in Parliament.
The visit concluded with meeting the Older persons community team who play an essential role supporting people in the community and are adopting innovative approaches to providing assessments and support.
Speaking after the visit, James said:
“Returning to Chatterton House underlined the crucial role mental health services play in supporting individuals through difficult times. I was impressed by the professionalism and expertise of the staff and welcomed the opportunity to listen to the challenges they face, as well as to raise issues on behalf of constituents. It is important that mental health services truly achieve the parity of esteem within the NHS that has long been promised.”
Dee Hart, Community Mental Health Matron for Older People in West Norfolk said:
“Our teams really enjoyed the chance to explain their roles and all that they do for our local community to James. Working with older people truly is a vocation for us, and we are dedicated to the older people of West Norfolk and their loved ones whom we work with. It was so great to have the opportunity to explain the new ideas and pilots for the Community Older People’s Team and how we jointly work with our health and social care colleagues, to formulate strategies for keeping our patients safe and to prevent unnecessary admissions.”
