Bereaved Sussex families urge NHS to work with them to improve mental health care
It's as a fresh report from watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found Sussex's mental health crisis services must improve
A group of Sussex families whose children have died in mental health care say the trust must listen to their experiences to improve.
It's as a fresh report from watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust's mental health crisis services require improvement.
The inspection carried out in April found there are still shortfalls in safety and leadership - after the Trust was served a warning over concerns for safe care last July.
"We think we have a lot to offer"
The findings follow the formation of the SPFT Bereaved Families Unite group, who have connected over mental health failings uncovered in their children's inquests.
The families are calling for their individual experiences to be taken into account when the Trust looks to improve its care.
"We don't think the leadership has any idea of the own evidence that their own staff are giving at these inquests," explained Louise Hodgson, whose daughter-in-law Morgan Betchley took her own life while in its care.
The 19-year-old's inquest found "failures to follow policy and procedures" prevented Morgan from accessing the services she needed before her death.
Louise continued, "As bereaved families, we think we have a lot to offer if the Trust leadership is really serious about facing up to the reality on the ground."
"Increased risk that patients could be harmed", report finds
The CQC warned "some aspects of the service were not always safe".
It found that "robust risk assessments" were not consistently completed to help minimise harm.
It added suites are not always available for urgent care, medicines are not managed safety, and health and wellbeing of patients weren't always assessed and safely managed.
In one scenario, sexual abuse victims were seen being cared for in a mixed-sex setting.
The watchdog also found "some shortfalls" in how well the trust managed and monitored patient safety, including making sure care is continuous across services.
Although, it noted concerns about safety were listened to and incidents investigated.
Trust: "Working with carers and families matters to us"
Mandy Stevens, Chief Nursing Officer at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said:
"Working with carers and families matters to us. This includes listening to people and making them feel heard.
"There are times we do this well, but we need to do it more consistently.
"We also need to avoid being defensive when people raise concerns.
"We are making progress.
"We have been awarded two out of three stars by the Carers Trust for our work on the Triangle of Care.
"This is about making sure professionals, families and carers work together as equal partners in someone’s mental health care.
"We are also introducing Open Dialogue, an approach that brings together the person in crisis, their family and the clinical team to make decisions collaboratively.
"We need to build on these positive developments and do more of it. As Chief Nursing Officer, I want us to do better.
"In relation to the Havens, we fully accept the concerns raised by the CQC and take them extremely seriously.
"Scrutiny is important.
"We welcome it because it helps us improve the quality of care we provide. Since the CQC's inspection in June 2025, we have introduced a more robust model of care for patients in the Havens and Health Based Places of Safety.
"We have delivered additional training to ensure staff can meet the full range of needs of people experiencing a mental health crisis."