Dear Mrs Lake Regulation 28 report following the inquest of Mr Benjamin Goodrum write in response to your report dated 8 December 2017 . Under paragraph 7 Schedule 5, of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and regulations 28 and 29 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 you requested the Trust consider issues f service delivery following the conclusion of the inquest into the death of Mr Goodrum The matter of concern you raised was in respect of the long term treatment team that provided care to Mr Goodrum. You referenced the Trust's Root Cause Analysis (RCA) investigation recommendation that all service users receiving active treatment should be allocated a Lead Care Professional or a Care Coordinator but received evidence at the inquest detailing this was not yet in place: You heard evidence of the actions the Trust takes to mitigate this risk but that such measures were not as effective a8 having an individually allocated worker: The RCA report and your finding confirm the challenge of providing safe and effective services when clinical teams experience vacancies. The Trust recognises the impact this has for service users, families, carers and staff: The clinical team involved in case (Central Norfolk Term Treatment Team) currently has one band 5 vacancy which is recruited to. Organisationally, whilst we are comparatively well compared to other Mental Health Trusts, with clinical vacancy rate of 10.5% compared to the national average of 13.7%, recruitment is one of the most significant challenges National Health Service faces, both nationally and locally Recruitment is aspect of the Trust's Workforce and Organisational Development Strategy in order to support ensuring staff with the right skills are deployed in the right place at the right time Actions to support recruitment include: Reducing the time it takes to hire staff. A lean process review has been undertaken resulting in the timeframe reduced from sixteen to ten weeks; this is in line with the regional average. have implemented a new recruitment system, TRAC, which provides greater level of information to candidates, recruiting managers and recruitment officers on progress and action required. This includes dashboard to assist in prioritisation of activities We have engaged a partner organisation to support us in promoting career opportunities within the Trust through social media: The use of social media now forms a aspect of our recruitment approach_ Working together Chair: Page Chief Executive: Julie Cave Trust Headquarters: Hellesdon Hospital, Drayton High Road, Norwich NRG SBE for better mental health Tel: 01603 421421 Fax: 01603 421341 WWW nsft nhs uk the Long being doing the key being We the key Gary

We have action plans in place for 'hotspot' areas that are particularly challenging to recruit to. These include short term tactical as well as medium to longer term plans_ In light of the national skills shortages, aspect of our recruitment approach is on growing our own staff: This includes accelerated pathways from apprenticeships to foundation degrees through to nurse training in order to become registered practitioners_ We are continuously reviewing our skill mixes are working closely with our bank provider to increase our bank capacity to ensure ready supply of appropriately skilled temporary staff to provide short term cover where needed Alongside this, whilst our retention rate is generally good, we are also undertaking work to support the retention of experienced and engaged staff: This is includes encouraging retirees to return to work following retirement on a flexible basis, significant focus o supporting staff wellbeing and a continued focus on embedding our Trust values and putting listening into action. Thank you for bringing the matters to the Trust's attention: If | can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.