The trust’s involvement is also currently being scrutinised at the Nottingham Inquiry in London, into the Nottingham attacks of June 13, 2023
Joseph Connolly Local Democracy Reporter, Joseph Connolly and Local Democracy Reporter
17:07, 08 Apr 2026Updated 17:09, 08 Apr 2026
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is based at Highbury Hospital in Highbury Vale, Nottingham(Image: Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC)
Nottinghamshire’s main mental healthcare trust has admitted it is ‘some way short’ of national expectations for seeing patients in urgent mental distress.
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust reported that in January 2026 it only reached 76 percent of patients in ‘very urgent’ need within four hours of their phone call – compared to a target of 90 percent.
And only 62 percent of patients with an ‘urgent’ need were seen within 24 hours – despite the trust aiming for an 80 percent figure.
The figures were published in a report and discussed at a meeting of the trust’s bosses on Thursday, March 26.
Documents say: “Performance against urgent and emergency mental health access standards remains challenged. A revised trajectory and mitigation plan will be brought forward, but confidence in meeting national access expectations remains low.”
Nottinghamshire Healthcare, which is based at Highbury Hospital near Bulwell, runs a range of facilities across the county, including community hospitals such as Lings Bar in West Bridgford, mother and baby units and podiatry services.
The trust’s crisis response figures for services like these is much better.
In January, 96% of community health patients in crisis were seen within two hours, compared to a 70% target.
But its mental health provisions have been under the spotlight for a number of years due to the Nottingham Attacks killer Valdo Calocane having been under its care – but discharged, nine months before he went on to kill three people on June 13, 2023.
The trust’s involvement is currently being scrutinised at the Nottingham Inquiry in London, into the Nottingham attacks of June 13, 2023.
Presenting a report on the trust’s January performance at the latest board meeting, chief operating officer Becky Sutton said: “I think it’s true to say there’s a mixed picture. Our most challenged area is our mental healthcare group.
“Our four-hour and 24-hour crisis response is not where we want it to be. We hear the concerns about how we address that.”
The trust received a total of 9,098 calls across the month.
Average wait time is described in documents as ‘high’ at three minutes and 18 seconds for a call to be answered, with 23 percent of calls being abandoned before an operator picks up.
A number of board members expressed their concerns about the figures.
Non-executive director Paddy Tipping said: “If we can’t manage the open door for the entry into our services we’re in a poor place. There’s quite a lot of concern out there about this. There has been some improvement but maybe it should be quicker.”
Non-executive director Nigel Smith said that he felt ‘uncomfortable’ with the statement suggesting the trust’s confidence in meeting national expectations was ‘low’.
And non-executive director Dawn Leese said that trust was “worried about it” and people are “worried about it” and suggested setting targets each month.
She said: “(That) is so that when we talk we’re all understanding the same thing, the same language and we know that we’ve said we’re going to have this sorted – call handling for four hours or 24 hours – by this point in time and we’re confident in that plan.
“If, for example, that doesn’t happen, then we need to ask ourselves questions about the delivery of the plan, and whether it was the right plan.”
Becky Sutton explained that the trust had addressed staffing issues and that there had been “full recruitment” to posts since the last meeting, although new staff hadn’t all started and hadn’t all been trained by the time of the meeting.
She added: “We are online with our plan to see that improved by the end of Q4 into quarter one of next year.”
A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Healthcare said: “We have taken action to improve this key area, putting in place enhanced oversight with weekly improvement meetings and additional support.
“Most importantly, we have recruited to a number of additional call handling posts and expect to be able to report an improvement over the coming months.”