Tawel Fan: Inquest into death of six patients opened

Tawel Fan opened in 1995 and had 17 beds before it closed in 2013

An inquest into the death of six elderly patients who were treated at a controversial mental health unit has been opened and adjourned.

The Tawel Fan ward at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Denbighshire shut in 2013 amid allegations patients were mistreated.

The inquests heard details of six patients who died two years before the ward was shut down.

Assistant coroner Joanne Lees said 88 deaths had been referred to the coroner's office.

The full inquests into Dr Ruth Mitchell, Peter Arnold, John Bone, Jones Williams, John Martindale and Janet Saxon will be heard at a later date.

In each case the coroner will examine the circumstances of each death to see if the ward was a causal or contributory factor.

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It comes after a number of reports into the treatment of patients at Tawel Fan.

In 2015 a report commissioned by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) found the concerns raised proven and said they amounted to "institutional abuse".

But a separate report by the Health and Social Care Advisory Service (Hascas) in May 2018 rejected this.

BCUHB promised to make improvements.

The health board said the Tawel Fan unit would never be opened again