Father Collaborates with NHS to Enhance Mental Health Care Involving Families

Trevor Stevens, a father who experienced the loss of his daughter, is collaborating with NHS mental health services. His objective is to enhance the integration of families and carers into an individual’s care plan. His daughter, Tobi, aged 19, died by suicide in 2020 while she was a student at Norwich University of Arts. Mr. Stevens is participating in a project initiated by the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). This initiative involves working with care providers to promote the documentation of carers on patient records. He stated that he had no knowledge of his daughter’s mental health struggles before her death and expressed his conviction that family members ought to be notified in certain situations. “Our lives were thrown into complete turmoil,” he remarked. He added, “We didn’t know that anything was wrong with our daughter.” Ms. Stevens was receiving care from the NSFT when she passed away. Patient mental health information is subject to confidentiality, meaning professionals are unable to disclose details to a patient’s emergency contact without explicit consent. Mr. Stevens seeks to alter this policy, contending that healthcare professionals should contemplate overriding confidentiality to inform families during extreme situations. He articulated his view, stating: “The question that you should ask yourself is not if there is a good enough reason to contact parents but is there a good enough reason not to?” Kelly Moulds, who serves as a people participation co-ordinator for the NSFT, also acts as a carer for her father. In her professional capacity, Ms. Moulds advocates for carers to become knowledgeable about their entitlements. She acknowledged, “There’s going to be examples of when a service user may not want their carer involved.” She further conveyed, “I think the message I would be saying is that, as a trust, we can still listen to people within the support network and take that information and put it to good use.” Individuals impacted by the subjects discussed in this report can seek assistance by visiting BBC Action Line. For updates on Norfolk news, follow BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available for review.