Bereaved relatives have said the Essex mental health independent inquiry, the first of its kind in England, is not fit for purpose. Haroon Siddique explains the controversy surrounding the trust under scrutiny and the inquiry investigating it.
When and why was the inquiry launched?
The inquiry was established on a non-statutory basis in January 2021 by Nadine Dorries amid concern about the quality and safety of mental health in Essex and after a 2019 investigation by the parliamentary and health service ombudsman that found numerous failings in the events surrounding the deaths of 20-year-old Matthew Leahy and another young man named only as Mr R.
What is it investigating?
It was initially investigating 1,500 deaths of people, including children, either while they were inpatients in a mental health facility or within three months of being discharged. They were under the care of Essex partnership university NHS foundation trust (EPUT) or its predecessors, North Essex partnership university NHS foundation trust and South Essex partnership university NHS foundation trust. In January, the inquiry chair, Dr Geraldine Strathdee, said the number of identified deaths had risen to almost 2,000.
What has the inquiry found so far?
Last year, Strathdee said three recurring failures had been identified by EPUT, which were serious concerns about patients’ physical, mental and sexual safety while on a ward, including claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault; big differences in the quality of care patients received, “both in staff attitudes and in the use of effective treatments”; and that patients and their families were given too little information about their treatment, likely length of stay and chances of recovery.
What else has happened since the inquiry was launched?
In June 2021, EPUT was fined £1.5m in relation to 11 deaths, including that of Steve Oxton, in which a “point of ligature was used within the ward environment of the trust’s premises”. EPUT pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Earlier that year, the regulator, the Care Quality Commission, told EPUT to improve the safety of the care it provided after an inspection uncovered lapses that posed a risk to patients including the absence of staff who were meant to be observing inpatients and staff not doing what they should to maintain safety.
A Dispatches undercover investigation broadcast on Channel 4 last year featured footage including of patients being restrained and of staff asleep on shifts and being slow to react to attempted suicides. The inquiry described it as “concerning and deeply upsetting to watch”.
Why has the inquiry come in for criticism?
Bereaved families are unhappy that it is not a statutory inquiry, meaning it does not have the power to compel witnesses to attend and give evidence under oath, which they consider to be vital given the seriousness of the allegations. The inquiry into the Post Office IT scandal that led to more than 700 unsafe convictions is an example of one that was converted into a statutory inquiry after public pressure.
In January, Strathdee published an open letter saying the Essex mental health inquiry “will not be able to meet its terms of reference with a non-statutory status”. After the letter, at a Westminster Hall debate about the inquiry, several Essex MPs including Vicky Ford and James Duddridge called for it to be made a statutory inquiry.
