Suicide review cancelled by mental health trust

Angelina Pattison's son Charles Ndhlovu died under the care of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust in 2017

A review of patient suicides at a mental health trust has been scrapped.

Last year, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) announced it would be looking into suicides since 2017.

The news came after the trust was accused of a “culture of cover up”.

The organisation has now cancelled the review, saying it “would not answer the individual and highly personal questions some families might have”.

• If you are feeling emotionally distressed, help and support is available via BBC Action Line.

First announced last year, the trust said the review would identify “further learning and common themes” from adults who died under its care.

The review’s announcement followed a report by the BBC into the death of 33-year-old Charles Ndhlovu, who was under the trust’s care for two months when he died in Ely in 2017.

CPFT was accused of adding to his records the day after he took his own life to, in his mother’s words, “correct their mistakes”.

The trust initially said the review would be internal, but later appointed an external body to ensure “further objectivity and independence”.

In a statement on its website, the foundation trust said it was “committed to learning from these tragic incidents” and planned the review with the “best of intentions”.

However, upon speaking with the families and loved ones of those involved, it said it became clear the review could not answer individual concerns.

It added that the trust has adopted the new national Patient Safety Incident Reporting Framework as well as enhancing its own Learning from Deaths programme.

Dr Ellen Wilkinson, who was appointed to chair the independent review, will continue to work with the trust to further its suicide prevention work locally.

The trust added: “We remain committed to listening to the families and loved ones of those affected by suicide and within the scope of the review and will continue to engage with them as we embed learning to improve our services.”