Lampard Inquiry: Dissatisfaction Sets In As Mental Health Inquiry Moves Ahead

Clients of Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors have professed disappointment and concern at the conclusion of Thursday’s hearing in the next step of The Lampard Inquiry investigation into alleged mental health service failings in Essex.

The Lampard Inquiry is examining the deaths of more than 2,000 people at NHS-run inpatient units in Essex between 2000 and 2023. It includes those who died within three months of discharge, and those who died as inpatients receiving NHS-funded care in the independent sector. Thursday’s hearing marked the conclusion of an “introductory” three-week session before the next public hearings of the inquiry in July, which will focus on “those who died while under the care of EPUT’s predecessor trusts”.

While the Thursday hearing saw Paul Scott, chief executive officer of Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), express “an apology and condolences to all families who have lost loved ones under the care of Essex mental health”, bereaved families remain anxious about the progress of the Inquiry itself.

Melanie Leahy, whose 20-year-old son Matthew died while under the care of the Linden Centre in Chelmsford, Essex, said: “Baroness Lampard has vowed to ‘seek out’ the truth during this inquiry but I fear history will repeat itself and she will come up against the various brick walls I have over the last 13 years of campaigning for the truth. I sincerely hope this is not the case. We, as a society, must protect each other, and this inquiry is crucial to making sure others do not die while under the care of the state.

“The Essex Partnership University NHS Trust (EPUT) decision to submit evidence late, resulting in the Oxevision evidence not being heard on the day it was originally listed, is not behaviour that shocks me. The total disregard for the families who should always be at the heart of this inquiry is indicative of how we have been treated by the Trust for over a decade.”

While Scott defended the organisation at yesterday’s hearing, and said it should continue to deliver mental health services, he spoke to the gravity of the failings that occurred at EPUT, commenting:

“I have listened when I first joined, I’ve met many families, at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution (which saw the trust fined £1.5 million), I was in the court for that and I’ve heard testimonies through this inquiry as well.

“They’ve been brave, powerful and heartbreaking.

“These have deeply affected me and motivated me to make a real difference and I’m sorry for their enduring pain.

“Since joining the organisation I have given everything I have to try and improve safety and I will continue to do so.”

Mr Scott became chief executive of EPUT in 2020 and described the HSE prosecution as “extremely sobering and shocking to listen to very powerful testimonies of families in the courtroom, how they’d been failed, the impact it had on them”.

“The responsibility I felt to address that was very powerful with me,” he said.

“I still remember that every day, that day is probably one of the most profound days of my life.”

Mr Scott referred to an opening statement that a barrister for EPUT gave in September last year “where we were very clear about accepting the failings of the past”.

He said: “We admitted to failings around ligature points and other environmental risks; staff members’ culture and conduct; sexual and physical abuse; absconding; discharge and assessment of patients; involvement of family and friends and staff engagement with investigations.”

Yet the behaviour of EPUT’s legal team at the hearing did not promote confidence for the next phase of the public hearings of the inquiry in July, which will focus on “those who died while under the care of EPUT’s predecessor trusts”.

Nina Ali, Partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, which is representing 126 families of loved ones who died while under the care of mental health services in Essex, said: “Some of the evidence heard during this section, in particular those from Essex Partnership University NHS Trust (EPUT), has left our clients with an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction.

“The reality that has been presented does not mirror their experience, which is extremely difficult to reconcile. Our families are yet again left questioning if they truly are being considered throughout. Why was part of a publicly listed hearing changed, at the last minute, to become a private hearing? Furthermore, EPUT’s late submission of the Oxevision evidence, despite being aware of the deadlines, shows a blatant disregard for the families, and we are concerned that if this behaviour is tolerated, it will send the inquiry down a troubling path.”

The next phase of public hearings relating to the Inquiry will take place in July.