A mental health boss will investigate the culture of his trust after a member of staff bragged they 'got away' with poor publicity in coverage of a great grandmother's death.
An email was sent by the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust's communication manager Mark Prentice on Thursday where he told colleagues the death of a Monty Python star may had saved the trust from bad media coverage.
A report into the death of 88-year-old dementia patient Doreen Livermore, who was attacked by a man in a King's Lynn care home in 2018, was released last week by the Norfolk Adult Safeguarding Board.
It criticised the Trust's dementia service for discharging the patient who attacked her too quickly.
Mr Prentice wrote to two of his colleagues: "We seem to have got away (again) with the Adult Safeguarding Review.
"I think we may have been saved by the death of Terry Jones."
Jonathan Warren, chief executive of the NSFT, said he was "angry, shocked and dismayed" by the email and will launch two investigations, one into Mr Prentice's conduct and one into the culture that "allowed this to happen".
Mrs Livermore's son Dr Roy Livermore also said the email showed a wider problem with the culture of the Trust.
"I don't think the email would have been sent if the culture of the organisation was not like that," he said.
"He must have been confident that the receivers would not have an issue with it."
In papers at a Trust board meeting on Thursday Mr Warren describes another woman's death as a "media issue" and Dr Livermore said that made the Trust's concern for its reputation over learning from its mistakes "looked like an institutional thing".
"It is not just one person making a mistake, it is window into the culture of whole organisation," he said.
Speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk on Friday, Mr Warren said the email was "totally inappropriate and unacceptable".
"The culture described is not the culture of the organisation I want to lead," he said.
He added: "I will absolutely ask the investigators to speak to Dr Livermore and we will add whatever he wants into the terms of reference of that inquiry and include him fully."
He said Mr Prentice was not at work at the moment.
See also: Mental health trust has messed up its own message
He also said he would not put a timescale on the length of the investigation but would appoint investigators on Friday.
Mr Warren told Radio Norfolk said he would not be considering his own position at the trust.
Mrs Livermore's family had repeatedly complained about the man attacking people at the care home before she was attacked.
Joan Maughan, independent chair of Norfolk's adult safeguarding board which investigated Mrs Livermore's death, said she had been reassured by the chief executive.
She said: "Clearly it raises the question. What needs to happen now in order to stamp out any culture that is not transparent and straightforward?
"I believe that will happen, I felt reassured when I spoke to Jonathan Warren last evening. We will certainly be watching and calling them to account if we feel that is not happening."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here