Mental health inquiry evidence prompts 'refocus'

The woman in charge of an inquiry into thousands of mental health patient deaths has said she would "refocus" her next session in response to "emerging evidence" and "ongoing issues" around an NHS trust's engagement with the process.

The Lampard Inquiry is looking into the deaths of more than 2,000 people under Essex NHS mental health services between 2000 and 2023.

Baroness Lampard, who chairs the inquiry, said July's hearings could result in her making interim recommendations.

The NHS mental health trust for Essex said balancing the "scale and complexity" of providing information to the inquiry with the demands of running a large mental health trust was "challenging".

The Lampard Inquiry - the first public inquiry in the UK specifically focused on investigating mental health care - has held several hearings since it began in September 2024, with the next one in July.

In a statement, Baroness Lampard referred to "ongoing issues" relating to the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and its engagement with the inquiry.

It is not the first time the trust has come under criticism at the inquiry, with Baroness Lampard "extremely dissatisfied" over EPUT's late submission of evidence in May 2025.

A statement put out by the inquiry said: "The hearing has been refocused, principally in response to emerging evidence and areas requiring the inquiry's urgent attention, and partly due to ongoing issues relating to EPUT's engagement with the inquiry".

Baroness Lampard will focus on five key areas in the July hearing, including the ongoing use of the remote monitoring system called Oxevision.

Infra-red cameras installed in patients' bedrooms can track their pulse rates by detecting "micro-blushes" of the skin - invisible to the naked eye - as well as their breathing rates by watching the rise and fall of a patient's chest.

A camera can also take images and provide a clean video feed of up to 15 seconds.

Alerts and warnings are meant to be sent to staff's computers and tablets in the case of an emergency.

The inquiry also heard the issue of resuscitation was an "emerging area of concern arising from multiple accounts", and would hear evidence on this issue in July.

More bereaved families would be invited to give evidence, as well as core participants.

Baroness Lampard said that, subject to what she heard this summer, she would "not hesitate to make interim recommendations for change".

EPUT now provides all NHS mental health care across Essex, having replaced two previous trusts which covered the north and south of the county.

Paul Scott, chief executive of EPUT, 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.

"The scale and complexity of identifying information across a 24-year period, and two predecessor organisations, has become increasingly clear and at times it can be challenging to balance this against the demands of running a large mental health and community trust caring for 100,000 people at any one time.

"We remain committed to doing everything we can to support the valuable work of the inquiry."

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