When Complaints Become a Black Hole: GMMH Still Cannot Say How Long Service Users and Families Wait For Complaints to be resolved
Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust says it has turned a corner since leaving NHS England’s Recovery Support Programme in November 2025. Yet its own FOI-Response-0584—PALS-and-Complaints-Handling-Since-September-2018 tells a very different story. Between September 2018 and October 2025, GMMH received 5,846 PALS concerns and 5,516 formal complaints. But when asked one of the most basic questions—how […]
Nearly £1 Million Spent on External Reviews of GMMH following Edenfield abuses– NHS England Reverses Secrecy Decision After FOI Challenge
The true cost to the public of two major external reviews into Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) has finally been revealed following a successful Freedom of Information internal review. NHS England has confirmed that the combined cost of Professor Oliver Shanley’s Independent Review and subsequent Assurance Review was £937,531, including VAT. The […]
A New Chief Executive. A New Test? CEO Karen Howell leaves GMMH to be replaced by Chris Oliver
GMMH’s latest Stakeholder Bulletin (June 2026) opens with Chief Executive Karen Howell reflecting on her retirement after 47 years in the NHS. She writes with pride about the progress made during her time at the Trust and asks colleagues and stakeholders to support her successor, Chris Oliver, in continuing that journey. No one doubts […]
Concern Over Possible Relocation of Mental Health Services from the Rawnsley Building, MRI: A Call for Clarity and Engagement
CHARM has received growing concerns from staff, carers, and service users regarding reports that several key mental health services currently based in the Rawnsley Building at Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) may be facing relocation. The services in question include the Central East CMHT (CE CMHT), Central Home-Based Treatment Team (HBTT), and the Clozapine Clinic. At […]
CHARM Reflection on re-envisioning mental health care and Open-mic, October 3rd – 4th
Over the past year and more, a diverse network of peer-led support groups and creative, community-rooted approaches took shape across Manchester, offering new ways to support people living with mental health challenges and their families. These initiatives prioritised relational care, lived experience, and collective learning, and emerged organically in response to gaps in statutory provision. […]
OPEN LETTER – Halt planned restructure of mental health services that will harm the city of Manchester’s most vulnerable
MANCHESTER’S MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS We urge members of the public, professionals, service users, relatives/carers, and advocates to sign our open letter below to support our demands. CHARM has sent this open letter to Cllr Basil Curley and Mayor Andy Burnham You can add your signature here. See pdf version here CHARM Open Letter Mental Health Service […]
