Grieving Families Come Face-To-Face With Health Providers For The First Time As Lampard Inquiry Continues

The families of loved ones who died while under the care of mental health services in Essex will come face-to-face with care providers for the first time as the Lampard Inquiry continues today.

The public inquiry is the first of its kind to specifically examine mental health deaths in the UK. It was granted following years of tireless campaigning by grieving families whose loved ones died while under the care of the Essex Partnership University Foundation NHS Trust (EPUT) and the North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT).

The statutory inquiry, which enters its third phase on Monday, 28 April, is looking into more than 2,000 deaths of mental health inpatients in Essex between 2000 and 2023. It is feared that the issues exposed during the hearing are not exclusive to Essex, according to lawyers at Hodge Jones & Allen, who are representing 126 families at the inquiry.

Chairwoman, Baroness Kate Lampard, will hear for the first time from health organisations and those tasked with independently investigating reports of wrongdoing, including the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as the focus shifts to how mental health services should be provided.

Melanie Leahy, whose 20-year-old son Matthew died while under the care of the Linden Centre in Chelmsford, Essex, has campaigned for over a decade to get to the truth.

In a poignant reminder that ‘behind every statistic is a person’, Melanie will be joined by fellow campaigners outside the hearing at Arundel House in London, displaying images of the sons, daughters, sisters, and brothers who have died.

Melanie, who started the petition calling for the inquiry in 2020, said: “It’s been years of heartbreak, unanswered questions, and fighting just to be heard, having lost two loved ones to a system that was supposed to care for them.

“We cannot ignore the reality that over 2000 deaths under Essex mental health are under investigation. That number keeps growing. Behind every statistic is a person – a son, a daughter, a friend. This is not just numbers on a page, these are real lives that have been cut short.

“This inquiry is more than a box-ticking exercise. It’s a chance to bring the truth to light. Our loved ones cannot rest in peace until the truth about the mental health failings is exposed. If the inquiry does nothing to change the poor services, people will continue to be abused, overmedicated, and die.”

Nina Ali, a partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, which represents 126 families, said: “This is a pivotal moment for our clients, the enormity of which we hope is not lost on anyone who provides evidence during this section of the inquiry.

“We must hold a mirror up to our mental health services and face the grave reality that our clients have suffered and are continuing to suffer. We are deeply concerned that these issues are not solely exclusive to Essex.

“We are hopeful that everyone will come to the inquiry with the same aim – to expose the truth. Without full transparency, lessons can not be learned, and lives will still be lost .”

The third tranche of the Lampard Inquiry runs from April 28 to May 15 at Arundel House in London.