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BBC News
15-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Lampard mental health inquiry hears of 'lack of humanity'
The counsel to an inquiry looking into deaths in mental health inpatient units said evidence from bereaved relatives reflected "a lack of empathy and humanity" in mental Lampard Inquiry is the first to investigate the deaths of more than 2000 people on mental health wards between 2000 and the end of a statement that closed the latest round of hearings, Nicholas Griffin KC described how one patient, Geoff Toms, 88, was placed in nappies, even though he could use the toilet, and how some hospitals felt more like of the main trusts responsible for mental healthcare, the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) has apologised to those failed. Mr Griffin paid tribute to relatives who had shared their personal experiences saying they had acted with "confidence, courage and expressions of love".Lynda Costerd, the daughter of Geoff Toms, was one of those giving evidence. She described her father's experience on Beech Ward at Rochford Hospital, an older person's mental health died in May 2015 and she says he was on the ward for less than 6 days, when he suffered injuries. "He was basically put in a chair, and they would take his walker away from him, so that he couldn't get up and move, so much so, they put him in nappies... even though he wasn't incontinent," she Costerd believed he was becoming malnourished, and said he was so thin that "you could see his pacemaker".She explained how Mr Toms had broken his nose during falls on the ward. She also said he had two black eyes and bruising to his face and looked like "he had been mugged".Ms Costerd said her mother told medical staff Mr Toms needed to see a she said they replied: "It doesn't work like that. You can't just say you want a doctor." 'Dire circumstances' The inquiry also heard how Pippa Whiteward, the mother of a baby, was restrained and handcuffed to a bed by police when - while in crisis - she attended the accident and emergency department at Broomfield Hospital in sister Lydia Fraser-Ward described how Ms Whiteward's husband had called it an "NHS version of a prison cell".She said her sister had been transported to Staffordshire as it was the only mother and baby unit bed available in the whole told the inquiry: "If there are really that few beds in this country for mothers with young babies who are having a mental health crisis that they have to ferry them around in ambulances, hundreds and hundreds of miles, just to give them a bed, then we are in really dire circumstances, aren't we?"Ms Whiteward, aged 36, took her life in October 2016 after being discharged. Another relative who gave evidence was Emma Cracknell, who spoke about her mother Susan Spring, who patrolled the streets of London as a Met police described how Ms Spring had not suffered from mental health problems in the past and how, when she tried to take her life, she was not assessed by a psychiatrist or sectioned to a mental health inpatient bed. After giving evidence, Ms Cracknell told the BBC: "I know she would have wanted to have her voice heard. I know the care she was given was not adequate."When you lean on a service like the crisis team, you just pin all your hopes on the fact they know what they're doing," she she added they knew they were not alone, and she hoped the inquiry could "bring around change". Mr Griffin said inquiry chair Baroness Lampard's team remained "disappointed" with the number of staff volunteering evidence, adding they were "few in number".It could be 2026 before staff are called to testify. In October relatives will continue to give their Griffin said mental health did not receive the attention it merited, given one in four adults and one in 10 children experience mental illness. "Chair, I know it is your hope that the Lampard Inquiry contributes to a wider conversation, that the public will engage in this, and that the media will reflect these experiences," he chief executive Paul Scott has apologised for deaths under his trust's said: "As the inquiry progresses, there will be many accounts of people who were much loved and missed over the past 24 years and I want to say how sorry I am for their loss."Baroness Lampard is expected to produce a final report in 2027. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
11-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Essex mental health services 'seen improvements', say CQC
A mental health trust has made "some improvements" to a few of its services, inspectors Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an inspection at Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) between November and December. The CQC visited nine wards across the trust to see if progress had been made after some its services were rated inadequate in 2023. A report by the government agency said inspectors had "found some improvements in acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units" run by EPUT. Inspectors visited wards at Colchester Mental Health Hospital, Derwent Centre in Harlow, Linden Centre in Chelmsford, Basildon Mental Health Unit and Rochford Hospital. Improvements were found in areas such as care planning, engagement with people who use the service and ward cleanliness. The CQC said there was enough regular staff on wards including psychology staff and physical health nurses across the added: "Leaders had taken action to improve the organisational culture, particularly around equality, diversity and inclusion, and prioritised the reporting of racial abuse against staff, an area previously identified as a concern." Medicine safety The trust was also told in 2023 it needed to improve in areas such as administering, prescribing and recording medicines safely. It was further stated that some records indicated that "people were given medicines above recommended doses within a 24-hour period". "The trust had made improvements to care plans which were now holistic and reviewed regularly, but they didn't always have details or consistency across different documents," the CQC said. Paul Scott, the chief executive of EPUT, said: "I am pleased that the CQC noted a number of improvements since its previous inspection in 2023."Much progress has been made in partnership with patients, carers and those with lived experience of our services. "We absolutely recognise there is more to do as we continue to focus on the transformation of our mental health services, embedding a new model of care on our wards that will boost staffing levels and ensure all patients receive consistently high quality, therapeutic care to meet their individual needs." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Lampard: Poor Essex mental health care cited in NHS 10-year plan
Mental health services where more than 2,000 in-patients died between 2000 and the end of 2023 have been cited in the government's 10-Year Health Plan as an example of poor practice, a lawyer told a Lampard Inquiry into the care of patients saw counsel Nicolas Griffin reference the government's comments, acknowledging systemic and avoidable harm in mental health services, including in health plan cites issues like toxic culture, incompetent leadership, rampant blame and a lack of fourth public Lampard hearing will focus on evidence from bereaved families over the next two weeks. The majority of mental health services in Essex are now run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT). Independent lawyer for the inquiry, Mr Griffin, told the hearing that personal testimonies would guide its investigations into any systemic failings."The Inquiry is aware that many families and friends have through their experiences sadly become experts in various different areas of mental ill-health, care and treatment," said Mr Griffin."It values that knowledge and intends to liaise with families engaging with the Inquiry and their representatives in relation to the investigation of systemic issues where relevant in each case."He said key themes found in relatives' statements included accounts of inadequate care, poor communication, unsafe environments, and a lack of accountability. Mr Griffin said the inquiry had also been monitoring recent deaths and inquests, including the 2021 death of Elise Sebastian under EPUT inquest jury at Essex Coroner's Court concluded that "poorly administered observations" contributed to the 16-year-old's - which runs the unit - and chief executive Paul Scott apologised to Elise's Griffin said further deaths in mental health settings in 2024 and April 2025 "may point to serious and ongoing issues in Essex". He said coroners had - or were expected to - issue Prevention of Future Deaths Reports, highlighting ongoing systemic issues. Mr Griffin told the hearing in London that the inquiry remained committed to establishing accountability - with staff names including those of junior staff generally could apply for their names to be withheld in line with relevant law and the inquiry's protocol on restriction orders, said Mr Griffin. The independent statutory Lampard Inquiry previous hearings were held in September and November 2024 and May 2025. In response to the government's criticisms of its health plan, Mr Scott said: "As the Inquiry progresses there will be many accounts of people who were much loved and missed over the past 24 years and I want to say how sorry I am for their loss."All of us across healthcare have a responsibility to work together to improve care and treatment for all and to build on the improvements that have already been made over the last 24 years." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Colchester domestic abuse support clinics for women praised
New women-only clinics, which helped survivors escape domestic abuse, have been "overwhelmingly positive", a health leader service in Colchester also offered one-to-one support for those struggling with substance misuse in north-east was launched by the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) to give counselling, advice and relapse Thomason, who has been involved in the scheme, said many women felt "safer" as a result of the care. Essex Specialist Treatment and Recovery Service (STaRS) worked with Open Road and Next Chapter to host the fortnightly have been staffed by female healthcare professionals where possible in a supported living unit for manager Mr Thomason said: "Feedback from the women's clinic has been overwhelmingly positive."Many of the women who use the clinic have experiences of domestic abuse, and they have told us that they feel safer in a separate, female-only location."He added STaRS planned to develop further clinics for homelessness, drug and alcohol support. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Mum's promise to help end mental health deaths
A heartbroken mother said she would do "everything I can" to make sure the circumstances that led to her daughter's death were not repeated. Elise Sebastian was 16 when she was found unresponsive in her room at the St Aubyn Centre mental health unit in Colchester in April 2021. An inquest jury at Essex Coroner's Court concluded that "poorly administered observations" contributed to her death. Victoria Sebastian said she would be taking part in the ongoing Lampard Inquiry, which is investigating the deaths of more than 2,000 mental health patients in Essex. "I will be fighting with the inquiry and doing everything I possibly can to make sure, no matter how painful it is for me and my family, nobody else has to do this because it is heartbreaking," she said. The Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) runs the unit, and chief executive Paul Scott apologised to Elise's family. Elise, a big Harry Potter and music lover, lived in Southminster near Maldon. She had been diagnosed with autism and her parents became increasingly concerned about her anxiety and depression, and in March 2021, she was admitted to the unit for a second time. The inquest heard she was supposed to be receiving one-to-one care, but on 17 April, she was left in her room for 28 minutes. Jurors were told how staff muted an audible alert that was part of a new infrared monitoring system, that had been installed in the unit two months previous. EPUT accepted the trust's failures were "causative of her death" and its lawyer Pravin Fernando said: "[It] failed in its responsibility by allowing her to enter her bedroom unsupervised." Speaking after the conclusion, Mrs Sebastian said her daughter was "dramatically and horrendously" failed and that she was treated as an "inconvenience" in the unit. "She was meant to be safe, but instead she was allowed to make several attempts to take her own life in the days leading up to her passing, until she finally succeeded," she continued. "There have been too many deaths. "It is the most painful thing ever to lose a child and I will do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen to somebody else's child. "Lessons should have been learnt and I should still have had my beautiful baby girl." The Lampard Inquiry team has been monitoring the progress of the inquest. Mr Scott said: "I want to say sorry to Elise's family and to everyone who loved her that she did not receive the care she deserved, and I offer my deepest condolences." If you have been affected by this story or would like support then you can find organisations which offer help and information at the BBC Action Line. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Neglect at unit led to teenager's death - inquest Alert muted before teen died at unit, inquest told NHS trust admits failures led to teenager's death Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
