Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest mental health and disability Trusts in England employing more than 9,000 staff, serving a population of approximately 1.7 million, providing services across an area totalling 4,800 square miles.

[3] John Lawlor the chief executive warned in June 2015 that "grey to black clouds" are looming as cuts force the trust to make savings of between £9m and £12m every year because changes in NHS cash allocation had led to a shift towards distributing money on the basis of "age" rather than "deprivation".

It plans to save £3 million a year, about 10% of the budget of the transferred departments, through more efficient operation.

[5] It was named by the Health Service Journal as one of the top hundred NHS trusts to work for in 2015.

[7] Chief executive James Duncan said it was important to "welcome" issues of abuse being highlighted after the publication of several damning reports into other mental health trusts.