On Monday September 9, the first hearings will begin for a major public inquiry into the deaths of almost 2,000 psychiatric patients.
Family say it is ‘long overdue’ and that it will expose an NHS mental health system that is ‘failing not just here in Essex but everywhere’.
A lawyer representing more than 120 victims said the state of mental health services is an ‘ongoing scandal’, and said the inquiry was as important as those into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Post Office fraud convictions.
Priya Singh, a partner at law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, said: ‘This inquiry must get to the bottom of how these people died, to allow the families some closure and understanding of why their loved ones were lost whilst under the state’s care.’
What is the Lampard Inquiry?
The Lampard Inquiry will examine the deaths of people who had received inpatient care for mental health in Essex between 2000 and 2023.
It will consider the cases of patients who died while an inpatient, or within three months of being discharged from NHS mental health services.
Patients who died include those under direct NHS care, and those who received inpatient care in the private sector funded by the state.
The wide-ranging scope will take in
- Adult mental health units
- Psychiatric intensive care units (PICU)
- CAMHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services units (acute and PICU)
- Mental health assessment units
- Mother and baby mental health units
- Older adult mental health units
- Eating disorder units
- Forensic/secure units
An inquiry was established in 2021, but so few staff agreed to come forward to speak about their experiences that it was upgraded to a statutory footing, which means witnesses are compelled to give evidence.
Previously, only 11 mental health staff out of some 14,000 came forward.
There will be over two weeks of public hearings in Chelmsford to gather information about why there were so many deaths in this time period, whether there were failings which led to them, whether they could have been prevented.
Who are the patients who died?
With so many people sadly affected, this will just give a snapshot. However, among the most high profile as their families have been campaigning, are:
Matthew Leahy, 20, who was found hanged in November 2012 while an inpatient at the Linden Centre in Chelmsford.
A subsequent inquest recorded a narrative conclusion, and his mum Melanie has been one of the loudest voices in campaigning for a public inquiry, collecting more than 100,000 signatures in support of this.
Ms Leahy said: ‘It’s become a crucial investigation which really is now a beacon of hope for so many people.
‘We want to ensure that every aspect of the mental health services here in Essex is scrutinised and then ultimately that any learning that comes from that is pushed across the country because we know the mental health system is failing not just here in Essex but everywhere.
‘I and many families, we’re not just looking for answers, we’re fighting for future patients, hoping to prevent more tragedies.’
Mum-of-four Marion Turner, aged 40, hanged herself at home on January 18, 2013, having being discharged from The Lakes mental health facility in Colchester in October 2012.
Her mother Martha Gaskell said she had been ‘begging for them to take her into hospital, they wouldn’t’.
She said she hopes the inquiry will bring ‘accountability’ and prevent future deaths.
Following Ms Turner’s death, the then senior coroner for Essex Caroline Beasley-Murray wrote in a report: ‘Evidence was given that the day before Ms Turner’s death, her solicitor, as a result of concerns about her mental health, had telephoned into the mental health trust office and left a message for Ms Turner’s CPN (community psychiatric nurse).
‘This message remained on a slip of paper, unread, in a pigeon hole until sometime the next day.’
Tillie King, 21, died in 2020 having been involved with mental health services since she was 13.
Her mother Lisa Bates, 57, said she will be protesting outside the inquiry after being refused core participate status because Tillie’s death was longer than the cut-off point after being discharged.
Ms Bates said her daughter, who had eating disorders, ‘missed an appointment because she was in a manic episode’ and ‘because of that, when she died she just missed the three month mark that they are allowing’.
She said she found her daughter in her bedroom in Brentwood, Essex, on March 8 2020 and a coroner concluded that her death was drink and drug related.
She previously told Metro.co.uk: ‘I was her main carer, I voiced my concerns, I said how worried I was and nobody listened.
‘They give you a crisis phone number to call, but as long as your crisis is between nine o’clock in the morning and five o’clock in the afternoon Monday to Friday you might get someone answer the phone.’
‘Tillie was, still is I say, an amazing person,’ she said. ‘That showed actually in her death because so many people reached out, she touched so many people… ‘She was a really lovely girl, it’s such a shame she was so troubled and they never got to the reason or the cause of it.’
How long is the Lampard inquiry expected to take?
No set timeframe has been given for publication of the conclusions of the inquiry.
However, the public hearings section of the proceedings is due to last from September 9 until September 25 in Chelmsford, Essex.
The inquiry’s official website says: ‘Baroness Lampard remains committed to publishing her report as soon as possible, while ensuring thorough investigations. We will publish our intended timescales for the entire work of the Inquiry and final report in due course.’
Who is Baroness Lampard and what other investigations has she chaired?
Baroness Kate Lampard CBE, a member of the House of Lords, is a former barrister with experience leading other high-profile reviews into public sector issues.
This includes the NHS investigations into Jimmy Savile, the paedophile BBC presenter who abused sick children and other patients in hospitals, as well as investigations into abuse allegations at Yarls Wood and Brook House immigration removal centres.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
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