The region's embattled mental health trust has vowed to go back over the number of people who died under its care - a year after bosses admitted to losing count.

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust unveiled a new way of measuring its mortality rates earlier this year, following a damning review of its previous methods.

Last year, a study from auditors Grant Thornton revealed discrepancies with how NSFT had been keeping track of the number of patients who died under its care.

And after an independent report, Forever Gone, was also published by campaigners Caroline Aldridge, Ann Humphrys and Emma Corlett, bosses at NSFT admitted they had lost count of tragic deaths.

The troubled organisation has recently started using a new method of recording data, relying more heavily on automated systems in efforts to reduce human error. 

Now this new system is up and running, bosses say it will be used to go back over the past five years to correct its previous inconsistencies.

Gary O'Hare, governance and safety advisor from NSFT, told Norfolk's health and overview scrutiny committee: "We have taken a much broader approach and will be reviewing all legacy cases from April 2019 up to October 2023.

"That is much broader than the Grant Thornton report but will allow us to have some five years worth of information around deaths associated with NSFT."

The approach has been designed to ensure the organisation has a greater understanding of the circumstances around patient deaths - and whether any future learning can be made.

He added: "We had a very manual system and there were far more errors in that."

Eastern Daily Press: Labour county councillor Brenda Jones

Meanwhile, the meeting saw Labour councillor Brenda Jones elected as the new chairman of the committee.

She succeeds Conservative councillor Fran Whymark, who congratulated Mrs Jones on her selection.