Nearly a third of calls to mental health crisis line are abandoned

A NOTTINGHAMSHIRE hospital trust responsible for mental health services has almost a third of its calls abandoned on its crisis line.

- By LAUREN MONAGHAN Local democracy reporter

The figure was discussed in Nottinghamshire County Council 's Health Scrutiny Committee meeting on Tuesday when it was presented with an update report from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

The trust, which is responsible for mental health services in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, has been under scrutiny over the last couple of years.

It was the trust that provided support and care to diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane, who stabbed to death Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates in Nottingham in June 2023.

Following the Calocane case, the Care Quality Commission conducted a Section 48 review looking into Calocane's care and also assessed wider issues in mental health care at Highbury Hospital and Rampton Hospital. Recommendations were given following the review, with two specific to the trust's crisis service.

They included ensuring patients can access crisis services without delay and improving responsiveness in its four-hour and 24-hour targets for patients being seen by a professional if needed following a call. The report discussed by the committee focused on improvements made in the trust's crisis service and crisis access line.