Inquiry into mental health deaths in Essex held up, says chair

Baroness Lampard said she was "disappointed" not to have heard back from the health secretary

A public inquiry into the deaths of Essex mental health patients cannot start because of government delays, according to its chair.

Baroness Kate Lampard said she was disappointed its terms of reference had not yet been agreed by the health secretary.

She began work in November but has yet to hear any evidence.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said her proposals were being considered.

The Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry has faced difficulties since it began work in 2021 under its previous chair, Dr Geraldine Strathdee.

She stepped down due to "personal reasons" last year after complaining that too few former mental health staff had engaged with the inquiry.

The probe was then placed on a statutory footing, meaning it could compel witnesses to give evidence.

The new chair, Baroness Lampard, said she had written to Health Secretary Victoria Atkins in December 2023, setting out the proposed scope of the revamped inquiry.

On the inquiry website, she wrote: "On 27 February 2024, I wrote to the secretary of state for health and social care requesting an update on the terms of reference. The inquiry is currently awaiting a response to this letter.

"I am disappointed that I have not received the final terms of reference and have therefore been unable to start the inquiry process."

Reference terms 'under consideration'

It is the first public inquiry into mental health deaths, focusing on Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and its predecessor organisations.

Dr Strathdee had previously stated that some 2,000 people had been identified as having died either while they were patients on an Essex mental health ward or within three months of being discharged, between 2000 and 2020.

But that figure was disputed by EPUT chief executive Paul Scott.

A DHSC spokesman said: "Our deepest sympathies go out to the bereaved families in these cases.

"We take the investigations of these tragic cases extremely seriously. Baroness Lampard has undertaken a consultation of its terms of reference, and this is now being considered.

"Ministers have held discussions with Essex MPs and are planning to meet a representative group of families before the Easter parliamentary recess to discuss this issue further."