Southern Health chief executive to face MPs

The leader of an under-fire health trust criticised for the "preventable" death of an 18-year-old will be scrutinised by MPs.

Chief executive of the Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Katrina Percy, will address MPs in a special meeting at Westminster on Tuesday.

The trust was criticised for "longstanding risks to patients".

In 2013 Connor Sparrowhawk drowned in a bath after suffering an epileptic seizure in Oxford.

'Frank questions'

The chief executive will address MPs at a meeting of the Hampshire All-Party Parliamentary Group.

Ms Percy has previously apologised for the issues that came to light following several inspections by government watchdogs.

After an inspection in January, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found there were "longstanding risks to patients" and investigations into deaths "were not good enough."

Scrutiny of the trust was sparked by the death of Connor Sparrowhawk at Slade House in Oxford in 2013.

Connor Sparrowhawk, who died at Slade House, had epilepsy and experienced seizures

The patient, who lived with epilepsy and learning difficulties, drowned in a bath at the facility after suffering a seizure.

In October, a jury-led inquest found that his death had been "contributed to by neglect".

Mr Sparrowhawk's mother and campaigner Dr Sara Ryan has called for Ms Percy to resign from her post at Southern Health.

Fareham MP Suella Fernandes said: "I and other MPs from the affected areas want reassurance that proper action is being taken, and I expect we will have some frank questions for Katrina Percy at the meeting."

Southern Health provides mental health services to patients across Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

A report commissioned by NHS England showed that of 722 unexpected deaths at Southern Health over four years, only 272 had been investigated.