Suffolk holds off on calls for public inquiry into mental health trust
It's after a report last year found the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust had lost track of patient deaths
A leading councillor says Suffolk will hold off on calls for a public inquiry into the local mental health trust.
Cllr Jessica Fleming, chairwoman of Suffolk’s Health Scrutiny Committee, has responded to calls from neighbouring Norfolk for a public inquiry to be launched into the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT).
In June of last year, an independent report was released revealing the trust had lost track of patient deaths.
The renewed calls for a public inquiry follow council meetings in both Suffolk and Norfolk which left many disappointed with the pace of NSFT’s progress.
Cllr Fleming agreed urgent action needed to be taken to address the trust’s issues but said Suffolk would remain neutral for the time being in calling for an inquiry.
She said: “It’s something we will be discussing but at the moment our position is that the service urgently needs to be improved, and we need to understand what steps need to be taken.
“This is a committee decision, and the decision whether or not to formally support Norfolk hasn’t been taken.”
The report, which was conducted by audit firm Grant Thornton, also revealed that out of the 11,379 deaths of people in contact with the trust over five years, the number which could have been deemed avoidable was unclear. At the time, however, the trust pointed out most deaths did not relate to poor care, but included natural causes.
During Suffolk’s health scrutiny committee, which took place last week, representatives from NSFT and integrated care boards (ICBs) said a new system had been put in place which reinvented the way data was dealt with.
Cllr Fleming also pointed out the impacts of a public inquiry should be taken seriously due to the time and resource demands it placed on already stretched services.
Public inquiries, according to the Institute for Government, are major investigations which give special powers to compel witness testimony and release of evidence into the public domain.
These are justified through the existence of public concerns about a particular event and are meant to prevent recurrence.