A mental health trust, which was in crisis after being named the worst in the country, spent more than £800,000 on spin doctors in a year.
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust was rated ‘inadequate’ four times in six years by the Care Quality Commission when it sought advice from a PR agency.
The public health watchdog subsequently said it had made ‘significant improvements’ – prompting a local MP to question yesterday what had happened behind the scenes.
Labour’s Clive Lewis, who represents South Norwich, told the BBC he was ‘astounded’ by the costs.
He added: ‘I think there are genuine questions about how this money has been spent.
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (pictured) was rated ‘inadequate’ four times in six years by the Care Quality Commission when it sought advice from a PR agency
Labour’s Clive Lewis (pictured), who represents South Norwich, told the BBC he was ‘stunned’ by the costs
“If they have used public money to tell the CQC there is no problem then I would like to know.”
NSFT appointed PR consultants Hood & Woolf in September last year when it faced another CQC inspection.
At least £814,752 was paid during a period when an independent review by Grant Thornton’s auditors found the trust had lost track of patient deaths.
A report into the deaths was criticized by the mother of a man who died in the trust’s care for allegedly being ‘watered down to spare bosses’.
A leaked draft version showed the trust’s governance described as ‘weak and inadequate’.
But ‘governance’ was replaced by ‘controls’ and another chapter on a ‘culture of fear’ among staff was deleted altogether.
NSFT and the auditors said changes were made as a result of fact-checking.
There was further unrest in September when CEO Stuart Richardson announced he was leaving.
A report into the deaths was criticized by the mother of a man who died in the trust’s care for allegedly being ‘watered down to spare bosses’
Hood & Woolf – which deals with crisis management and, according to its website, provides support for major change programs – emphasized that it was “absolutely not involved” in the review process.
A source familiar with the trust told the BBC that the amount paid to the PR agency was ‘shocking’.
He added: ‘Spending such eye-watering amounts of money on spin doctors seems quite unethical and, frankly, unnecessary.
‘Having worked in several NHS organisations, I have never come across this before. Spending such enormous amounts of taxpayers’ money is, in my opinion, an obscene waste of public money.’
Peter Passingham, from public sector union Unison, added: ‘That money could be used to pay clinical staff on site. You might be talking about ten mental health nurses.
‘If the trust wants to improve its image, it needs to spend money on improving its services.’
NSFT deputy chief executive Cath Byford said: “Hood & Woolf provided specialist capability and capacity that lacked confidence at a time when the need for this service was great.
“They provided us with communications and engagement services and engaged an entire team, giving us rapid and sustainable access to a range of skills and support.
A source familiar with the trust told the BBC that the amount paid to the PR company was ‘shocking’.
“Our agreement with Hood & Woolf has now been closed and they are not currently working with us.”
Hood & Woolf director Steph Hood said the company was working with “some of the most complex and challenging organizations in the country”.
She added: ‘None of the work we have done is in conflict with providing good care to patients. It is vital in supporting NHS colleagues to focus on running the services people need.”
The CQC said it used ‘a number of different sources of evidence’ to reach its conclusions about the trust and was satisfied that its ‘assessments were accurate and evidence-based’.
Other NHS services that have commissioned Hood & Woolf include the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, which paid them almost £580,000 in 2022-2023.
The hospital was also rated ‘inadequate’ by the CQC at the start of the relationship, but was upgraded and removed from special measures following a further inspection.
It was also added to the government’s New Hospital Programme, following a campaign by hospital bosses.
QEH chief executive Alice Webster said the company had been hired to mainly help with the new hospital campaign and the contract expired in January.
She added: ‘This activity could not be delivered at the time by the limited trust communications and engagement team due to senior vacancies and illness.’
Steph Hood, director of Hood & Woolf, said: ‘Since 2021, we have helped Norfolk to secure more than £860 million in national investment for a new hospital in King’s Lynn, tackling poor culture so that NHS staff becomes more confident in raising money. concerns, and to support leadership teams to talk publicly and openly about challenging issues, including patient safety.”